Here we are in the rubber match of the three-game series at Yankee Stadium. First pitch is at 6:05
*For the season, the Astros are 2-3 in rubber matches with both wins coming against Seattle.
*Since taking three straight AL West road games from April 9-12, the Astros are 1-10 on the road.
*The Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound this evening.
*Phelps, 26, was selected in the 14th Round of the 2008 draft, 18 picks after the Astros selected Chris Hicks out of Georgia Tech. Phelps is one of three players drafted in the 14th Round of the 2008 draft to make the Majors (
*Phelps went to Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, Missouri, which is the alma mater of Kyle McLellan, Al Nipper, and ESPN journalist Matt Winer, and the birthplace of Ryan Howard.
*David Phelps was the Yankees' minor league pitcher of the year in 2010 and replaced Freddy Garcia in the Yankees rotation on April 29, 2012, making his first start on May 3 at Kansas City (4IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:0BB).
*New York was 6-5 in his starts in 2012, 14-19 overall. The Yankees are 1-5 in his six outings (all in relief) in 2013.
*Phelps has come out of the bullpen in all six of his 2013 appearances, but has recorded 4+ outs in all six. In his last three appearances, he's thrown 9IP, 9H/7ER, 14K:5BB.
*His last outing - April 26 against the Blue Jays - was remarkable. Phelps threw 4IP, 2H/1ER, 9K:2BB, and 44 of his 77 pitches were for strikes, getting his first win of the season.
*Phelps vs. RHB: .294/.351/.529. Vs. LHB: .226/.368/.355.
*Phelps at Yankee Stadium: .200/.319/.400
*This season, Phelps has been throwing his 90.1mph avg fastball 57.6% of the time, mixing in an 80mph curve (21.4%), and an 85.7mph cutter (14.9%). He's been throwing an 82.1mph changeup 6.2% of the time.
*He has been getting hitters to chase pitches out of the zone at a 22.9% rate (down from 28.1% in 2012), while batters are making contact 80.2% of the time (down 2% from 2012), throwing 46.7% of his pitches in the strike zone.
*Only two Astros have faced Phelps: Carlos Pena (0x1, 4BB) and Chris Carter (0x1, 1K, of course).
*Erik Bedard takes the mound for his customary three innings tonight In his last three starts, Bedard has faced 44 batters, and half of them have reached base in some fashion. In those 7.1IP, he has allowed 16H/13ER, 14K:6BB, five homers, four doubles, and two triples. That's a studly .421/.500/1.026 for a 15.95 ERA/3.01 WHIP.
*On the road (three games), opponents are hitting .333/.436/.848.
*The #8 hitter has four hits against Bedard - three of them are homers. Of the 5HR Bedard has allowed, all have come against the #7 or #8 hitter.
*Current Yankees are hitting a combined .323/.412/.475 against Bedard. Vernon Wells is 11x32 with two walks. Travis Hafner is 5x16. Cano is 4x16, while Ichiro is 4x12 with four walks.
