Brewers at Yankees
Clint Frazier is the latest Baby Bomber to wow the Yankee Stadium crowd and hopes to continue the solid start to his major league career when New York hosts the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in the teams' final game before the All-Star break. The Yankees trailed by a run entering the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday before Frazier's three-run homer gave New York an improbable 5-3 victory and the outfielder two home runs and six RBIs in his first 20 at-bats.
Frazier (3-for-4 on Saturday) joins fellow rookie Aaron Judge (major league-leading 30 home runs) and Gary Sanchez (13 home runs in 56 games) as the core of the Yankees' youth movement, prompting New York manager Joe Girardi to tell reporters: "Clint's at-bats all day were good, and to hit a three-run walk-off homer, we needed that." Milwaukee, which is 8-2 in its last 10 games as it continues to lead the National League Central Division, hopes Domingo Santana stays hot. The 24-year-old outfielder belted a three-run homer Saturday and is 14-for-28 with two home runs, nine RBIs and six walks in his last eight games. The Brewers' Jimmy Nelson has struck out at least eight in his last four starts - winning three - and opposes Masahiro Tanaka, who has won his last two starts after dropping six straight decisions.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jimmy Nelson (7-4, 3.20 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (7-7, 5.25)
Nelson allowed one run (unearned) and six hits while striking out eight in seven innings of a 6-2 victory over Baltimore on Tuesday, and didn't walk a batter for the fifth time this season. The 28-year-old Oregon native is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA over his last eight starts, allowing 49 hits and striking out 68 in 54 2/3 innings. Nelson faces New York for the first time, and Starlin Castro (2-for-13) and Matt Holliday (disabled list) are the only players he faced from their days with the Cubs and Cardinals.
Tanaka yielded one run, five hits and one walk while striking out eight in seven innings of a 6-3 victory over Toronto on Monday and is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 21 innings over his last three outings. "He gets you off the fastball just in time to throw the fastball," Blue Jays' Steve Pearce told reporters about the 28-year-old Japan native, who posted an 8.91 ERA over seven games (0-6) before his three strong starts. "It's only a matter of time for somebody like that. Sometimes you'll feel the wrath of somebody when they're coming out of it. He's coming out of it - you could tell." Tanaka made one start versus Milwaukee, permitting two runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-3 win during his rookie season in 2014, and has handled former Boston infielder Travis Shaw (2-for-12, home run) well.
WALK-OFFS
1. Brewers RHP and All-Star Corey Knebel (1.76 ERA) blew his fourth save of the season Saturday after converting nine in a row.
2. Judge was second in the American League in RBIs (66) and third in batting average (.330) after going 1-for-3 on Saturday.
3. Milwaukee led 3-0 after one inning Saturday and has outscored opponents 78-44 in the opening frame this season.