David Phelps hopes to give New York a better effort on Tuesday than he did the last time he took mound, as the Yankees continue their three-game set with the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.
Phelps couldn't get out of the first inning Wednesday against the New York Mets, as he was battered for five runs (4 earned) and four hits and walked a pair before being pulled. The short outing dropped him to 3-3 on the year and raised his ERA to 4.65.
"I mean, it stinks," Phelps said afterward. "Obviously, it's one of the worst outings you can have, but I'm not going to let it kill me. I'm going to go out in five days, just pitch my game -- I know I'm capable of it. I've just got to go out and do it."
Phelps lost to the Tribe earlier in the year, as he surrendered just a run in 6 2/3 innings, but walked five batters.
New York drew first blood in this series on Monday, as Brett Gardner came through with a tie-breaking two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Yankees' sputtering offense sprung to life in a 7-4 victory.
Mark Teixeira belted a grand slam for his first home run of the season, with Travis Hafner adding a solo shot later on in the win. Austin Romine aided New York's cause by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Yankees entered the game having lost seven of eight and had scored a total of 15 runs during that stretch, but battered Justin Masterson (8-4) for seven runs and nine hits over the Tribe starter's 6 1/3 innings of work.
Andy Pettitte, making his first start since May 16, surrendered four runs and seven hits through 4 2/3 innings in his return from a strained left trapezius muscle. Four New York relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless frames afterward, with Shawn Kelley (3-0) beginning the sequence with 1 1/3 shutout innings to collect the win.
Michael Bourn went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the loss, the sixth in a row for the Indians on the road.
Former Yankee Nick Swisher finished 0-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in his first appearance at Yankee Stadium since signing with the Indians as a free agent during the offseason.
"What makes this team good, and will win it our for us in the end, is that we have good depth," said Masterson. "You're going to lose games, you just have to make sure you don't lose a bunch in a row because that is when you fall into holes."
Heading to the hill for the Indians on Tuesday will be lefty Scott Kazmir, who is 3-2 with a 5.13 ERA. Kazmir was terrific in beating the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, as he held them to a run over seven innings.
"I was attacking the strike zone," Kazmir said. "Mainly, that helped me out, being able to expand the strike zone after that, after I got my first strike of the at-bat.
"Everything was working, for the most part. Breaking ball was a little erratic, but at the same time, I was able to get it in a location where I wouldn't get hurt."
He is 7-6 lifetime versus the Yankees with a 3.34 ERA in 17 games (16 starts).
The Yankees have won nine of the last 10 head-to-head meetings with the Tribe in the Bronx.
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