At first glance, the Yankees’ season-long, seven-game winning streak would appear to be in little danger with the lowly Reds coming to town for the start of a three-game series tonight (7:05, MY9. WCBS).
The Reds stumble into The Bronx losers of five straight, but they may have the extinguisher that can put out the red-hot Bombers.
Edinson Volquez has been the most dominant pitcher in the National League. And though you may not have heard his name before today, you likely will remember it after tonight’s game. The 24-year-old comes in 9-2 with a 1.64 ERA.
“For a young player, he’s not easily rattled,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said of Volquez. “He doesn’t panic much. And of all the pitchers, he has the most fun.”
Yankees batters have been having a bit of fun themselves recently. Since Alex Rodriguez’s return from the disabled, list, the Yankees are 20-9 and have averaged 5.5 runs per game.
But Volquez knows how to handle explosive lineups. In his previous start, he held the Red Sox to two runs over seven innings. Two starts before that, he shut out the Phillies at their hitter-friendly home field for seven innings.
Baker was impressed during spring training, but was not sure what to expect from the youngster when the season started.
“I knew he had a great arm, and a great changeup,” Baker said. “You don’t really know how a guy is going to do until the bell rings. You see a lot of stuff in the spring. Until the bell rings, you don’t really know what you have.”
Volquez was acquired from the Rangers in the offseason for outfielder Josh Hamilton, who is having an equally impressive year tormenting American League pitching for Texas. While a member of the Rangers organization, Volquez bounced between the big leagues and the minors until finding a home in Cincinnati this season.
“I kept going back and forth,” Volquez said. “You do something good, like I did in Triple-A, you get to the big leagues. The next year at spring training, they sent me all the way back to [Single] A ball. There was no reason.
“I’m confident right now. I don’t think about if I pitch bad, will I get sent down? I don’t have any pressure right now.”
Tonight’s Pitching Matchup:
Yankees RHP Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.87 ERA) A surprising youngster will face a surprising veteran as Mussina continues to produce wins for the Yankees. In his prior start, he shut down the Astros over six innings after giving up three first-inning runs; the Bombers prevailed 8-5.
Reds RHP Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.64 ERA) In the three years Volquez spent with the Rangers he never faced the Yankees.
With MLB.com