Mitch Talbot tries to end the Indians' skid as he faces former Tribe ace Bartolo Colon.
View full sizeMitch Talbot starts for the Indians today in New York.(AP) -- A matchup with the sputtering Cleveland Indians might be just what the New York Yankees need to get their homestand back on track.
The Yankees will try to add to their recent dominance of the Indians with help from resurgent veterans Jorge Posada and Bartolo Colon on Saturday.
New York opened its 10-game stay at Yankee Stadium by getting outscored 25-13 in three consecutive defeats to rival Boston, the team it's chasing in the AL East.
The Yankees (34-27) totaled 24 hits during the series but weren't far from matching that in Friday's 11-7 win over Cleveland. Five players combined for 12 of the team's 15 hits with Posada and Robinson Cano contributing three apiece.
Mark Teixeira also drove in three runs to send the AL Central-leading Indians (34-27) to their 12th defeat in 16 games. The Yankees first baseman, who has eight RBIs this week, was also hit by a pitch for the second time in four games, causing benches to clear and the teams' managers to get into a face-to-face screaming match.
"Sometimes it doesn't really matter if it's on purpose," said third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who homered for the third time in six games. "There's no question, it was very important for us to bounce back and play our type of baseball.
"Forget who we're playing, you can't have teams be so comfortable against us. I thought tonight was a good way to answer back and answer the call because the last three games at home (were) very embarrassing for us."
The win was also New York's 11th in 14 games against Cleveland, which holds a scant one-game lead over Detroit in its division.
Colon, a former Indians starter, will try to deliver another victory by adding to his streak of solid outings.
The right-hander has a 1.88 ERA in consecutive victories after going winless in his previous five starts. He followed up on a four-hit shutout by giving up three runs over 5 1-3 innings to Los Angeles during a 5-3 victory Sunday.
Colon (4-3, 3.39 ERA) is 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA in eight career starts against the Indians and has not faced them since June 7, 2009.
He'll try to get help from Posada, who is hitting .625 (10 of 16) in his last four games after batting .169 in his first 44.
"Just waiting for the ball longer and hitting it to all fields," he said. "Really seeing it better."
Posada is hitting .303 with two homers in his last nine games against Cleveland but has never faced Mitch Talbot (2-2, 4.18).
The Indians right-hander has alternated wins and losses in his last four starts, including his three since returning from a strained pitching elbow. He gave up two runs over six innings Sunday but got zero runs of support for the second time in three outings during a 2-0 defeat to Texas.
"Mitch did a fantastic job," manager Manny Acta said. "He gave us everything we needed."
Talbot is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees but had his previous matchup on July 29, 2010, cut short by a back injury.
Derek Jeter, nine hits shy of 3,000, is 2 for 4 in his career against Talbot, while Brett Gardner is 3 for 3.
Orlando Cabrera, seeking his 2,000th career hit, is 3 for 8 versus Colon, who hasn't won three consecutive starts since the 2008 season.
The Indians have been outscored 100-51 over their last 16 games.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/06/indians_continue_series_in_new.html
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