• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rangers-Yankees Preview

Jun 3, 2009 - 4:15 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Texas (30-20) at New York (30-21), 7:05 p.m. EDT

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte is feeling good enough to play. Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton isn't as fortunate.

After beating the Rangers to take over the American League's best record, the Yankees send Pettitte to the mound to face a lineup that will be without one of the majors' best hitters as the teams play the middle game of their series Wednesday night.

New York (31-21) had its record-setting errorless streak end at 18 games but set a season high for runs in a 12-3 win over Texas (30-21) on Tuesday night, giving it a slight edge over the Rangers for the AL's top record.

With 16 wins in their last 20 contests, the Yankees have a one-game lead over Boston in the AL East. New York is 10 games over .500, a mark it didn't reach last year until its 100th game.

Pettitte (5-1, 4.10 ERA) has played an important role in the Yankees' recent success, winning three straight decisions. He won his last start despite straining his back in the fourth inning, taking a shutout into the sixth before leaving New York's 3-1 win over Cleveland on Friday night.

Pettitte insists he'll make his scheduled start Wednesday.

"I feel good," Pettitte said. "We haven't even talked about me missing a start."

The veteran left-hander overcame a season-high five walks against the Indians, giving up one run and six hits in five innings.

Pettitte is 9-8 with a 5.50 ERA in 20 starts versus the Rangers.

Hamilton's only hit in three at-bats against Pettitte was a homer, but the center fielder will have to wait a while to face him again. Texas placed Hamilton on the disabled list Tuesday with an abdominal strain and he'll be out from two weeks to two months.

"In a week or two he could show significant improvement, so I think there's a chance that the DL stint will be exactly what he needs," Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine said.

Hamilton is hitting .240 with six homers and 24 RBIs after a breakout 2008 season, when he batted .304 with 32 homers and 130 RBIs.

The Rangers went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position Tuesday, and were thoroughly outplayed in a matchup of the top two homer-hitting teams in the majors. New York got three-run shots from Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to raise its total to 82, two behind Texas.

At least one homer has been hit in all 24 games at the new Yankee Stadium. That's two more than San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium for the longest streak at the start of a big league ballpark.

Derek Jeter, who has hit five of his seven homers at home, went 3 for 4 and scored in the fourth inning to become the fourth active player - and fourth in Yankees history - with 1,500 runs.

He joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees with 1,500 runs. The only other active players to reach the mark are Ken Griffey Jr, Gary Sheffield and teammate Alex Rodriguez.

Jeter and the Yankees will now face Scott Feldman (4-0, 3.91), who is 4-0 with a 2.59 ERA in seven starts after being used out of the bullpen for the first two weeks of the season.

The right-hander earned a win in his last outing, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings during Texas' 5-2 victory over Oakland on Friday night in the second game of a doubleheader.

Feldman is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance against the Yankees.