Warren Get's Spot Start, Ichiro Goes For 4,000 Hits

Whether it's because Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup or not, the New York Yankees are playing very good baseball right now. Winners of three in a row, and 9 of their last 12 games, the Yankees are suddenly looking like a team that could compete for the second wild card spot.

The Yanks are coming off a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, in which they came away with a pair of victories, winning game one thanks to a go-ahead three-run homerun by Chris Stewart, and a walk-off single by Jayson Nix in the nightcap.

With two games down and two more to go in this four-game set, the Yankees will get another chance on Wednesday to continue to build their case for a string playoff run down the stretch in September.

"I think we're kind of creeping [in the standings] a little bit, but we've got a long way to go, we've got a lot of games," Nix said Tuesday. "I think each game is very important, and we know that."

Coming into the game, Ichiro is needing only one more hit to reach the 4,000 plateau, and become only the third player all-time to reach the historic mark. After getting to 3,999 in game one yesterday, he sat out game two, not getting a chance to collect one more hit.

It's not just the 4,000; it's that you're getting a hit in a game," Ichiro said Tuesday. "If you don't produce, you're not going to play in games. Producing in games is what's good for me. Four thousand is just as important as any other number, for me."

Tonight's Lineup vs Toronto:

Gardner DH
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Granderson CF
Nunez SS
Overbay 1B
Nix 3B
Romine C
Warren RHP

Pitching Preview:

Tuesday's doubleheader used up Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, so in an attempt to save the arms in the rotation, Yankees manager Joe Girardi will call on Adam Warren for the spot start tonight against the Blue Jays.

Used a the Yankees long-relief arm out of the bullpen for most of the season, Warren hasn't taken the mound as a starter for the Bombers yet this season. Tonight will mark only the second starting his Major League career, with the first coming against the Chicago White Sox on June 29th of last season.

Warren didn't fare out too well in that only start last year, as we wound up permitting six runs in just 2 1/3 innings. But as the long-man this year, Warren has proven himself well, with a 3.57 ERA with 46 strikeouts over 58 innings.

Warren and the Yankees will be taking on the 2012 NL Cy Young award winning R.A. Dickey. Dickey was traded to Toronto in a blockbuster deal this past winter, being a move that hasn't exactly panned out for the last place Blue Jays.

The 38-year-old knuckleballer has been nothing like he was with the Mets in 2012, going 9-11 with a 4.49 ERA. His biggest problem this season has been giving up the long ball, as Dickey has served up 27 this year, good for 1.4 homers per nine innings, up from 0.9 in 2012.

Dickey's last start was Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, when he gave up another homerun, permitting four runs in the loss. On the bright side, Dockey has lasted at least seven inning in his last three starts.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 Tweet