Nova Takes The Mound Needing A Yankees Win

Once again a lack offense gave no help to the Yankees Tuesday night as they fell to the Royals for the second day in a row, extending the losing streak to three games.

CC Sabathia did all he could, pitching a complete game while giving up just three runs on seven hits, taking the loss. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but came away with only one run.

"It's frustrating; a loss is a loss," Sabathia said. "It doesn't matter how many innings you throw or how many runs you give up, if you lose the game, you lose the game. That's all that really matters."

Tonight's Lineup, 7:05 EST @ Yankee Stadium:


Gardner CF
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Hafner DH
Almonte LF
Overbay 1B
Nunez SS
Cruz 3B
Stewart C
Nova P

Pitching Preview:

Ivan Nova takes the mound for the Yankees after tossing a masterful outing last Friday. Since his last call-up in June, Nova has been nothing but solid for the Yankees, pitching to a 1-1 record with a 2.95 ERA in his past three outings.

"It changed my whole mind," Nova said about his last outing. "[Knowing] I'm pitching Wednesday, that makes me build up my comfort a little bit more. It's great to have a game like that and get back on the mound."

Nova has been much better than what he was before landing on the DL in last April, eventually being placed in Triple-A. Prior to his injury, he was 2-1 with a 5.16 ERA.

"The first time I get to the Yankees, to spring training, I knew there was going to be a fight. That's what I've been doing," Nova said. "There are ups and downs, I'm not perfect. When you're down you have to find a way to get back on track, and I think I'm doing that right now."

He'll be squaring off against another former AL East opponent in Wade Davis, who's coming a good start against the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight over seven innings.

Going in the Yankees favor, Davis' ERA on the road this season is 6.81, compared to 4.44 at home, while his ERA during night games is also much higher, at 6.19.

Yankee Notes:

* A-Rod played in his 6th rehab on Wednesday, playing with the Single-A Tampa Yankees. He went 1-for-3 with a single and an RBI, his second hit during this rehab stint.

* David Robertson is still in second place in the American League Final Vote, trailing Steve Delabar of the Toronto Blue Jays. There's still plenty of time to vote, with voting ending Thursday at 4pm EST. Robertson also wanted to remind everybody that from 10am to 4pm, if you use the hashtag #HighSocksForVote, every tweet including the hashtag will count as one vote for Robertson.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.