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Jason Bay’s return seemed to be just what the New York Mets needed to break out of their slump.

David Wright’s long-awaited offensive contributions also helped.

After snapping their longest home losing streak in four seasons, the Mets will look for their momentum to carry over as they open a three-game set against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

New York (6-13) had averaged 3.7 runs over a seven-game home skid — its longest since losing eight straight at Shea Stadium from Sept. 14-28, 2007.

Bay, though, doubled and scored two runs in his 2011 debut and Wright ended a career-worst 0-for-20 drought as the Mets recorded their highest run total at Citi Field this season to defeat Houston 9-1 on Thursday.

“Obviously having Jason Bay back — to pull these guys together is one of the best things that could happen,” manager Terry Collins said of the three-time All-Star, who had missed the first 18 games with a strained left rib cage.

“I think his presence in the clubhouse, in the dugout, and on the field is a big factor.”

Wright, meanwhile, went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs after failing to record a hit in his previous five games — during which the Mets scored a combined nine runs.

“It’s nice to have those kinds of games where you have the good starting pitching and the hitting,” said Wright, batting just .232 lifetime against Arizona (8-9) at home.

Chris Capuano worked seven innings to earn the victory Thursday for New York, something Friday’s scheduled starter Mike Pelfrey (0-2, 9.72 ERA) has yet to accomplish in 2011.

Pelfrey’s struggles continued Saturday, when he gave up a season-worst 11 hits and four runs over five-plus innings of a 4-0 loss at Atlanta.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourself because nobody else in the league is going to feel sorry for you,” Pelfrey said. “I definitely have to be better.”

The right-hander could have a hard time getting back on track against the Diamondbacks, as he is 0-5 with a 6.69 ERA over seven starts in the series.

Arizona has taken nine of 11 from New York, including four of five on the road. The club had won three straight overall and its first two at Cincinnati before falling 7-4 to the Reds on Thursday.

“You get two out of three, it’s very huge,” shortstop Stephen Drew told the Diamondbacks’ official website. “You keep doing that, you’re pushing for a playoff spot. Hopefully, we keep that up during the year and see where we’re at. Going to New York now, maybe we can take two out of three and maybe sweep them.”

Drew went 2 for 4 with a home run Thursday while third baseman Ryan Roberts, batting .423 during an eight-game hitting streak, doubled and scored a run.

Arizona’s bullpen recorded 2 2/3 scoreless innings to lower its ERA to 0.42 over its last six games — a span of 21 1/3 innings.

But while the Diamondbacks’ relievers have thrived after a woeful 2010, their starters have stumbled, posting an MLB-worst 5.99 ERA.

Joe Saunders (0-2, 6.32) will try to bounce back after surrendering a career-worst-tying 12 hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings of Saturday’s 5-3 loss to San Francisco.

The left-hander, who has never faced the Mets, is 0-9 with a 5.73 ERA over his last 10 road starts dating to last season.

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CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

Source

STATS LLC

CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

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The Cleveland Indians have finished at or near the bottom of the AL Central as the Minnesota Twins have won the last two division titles. When these Central rivals meet for the first time this season Friday night at Target Field, the Indians will be the club on top with the Twins trying to climb out of the cellar.

Cleveland tries to snap a five-game skid in this matchup as Minnesota goes for its fifth consecutive home win in the series.

After tying for last in the Central in 2009 — 21 1/2 games behind the Twins — the Indians went 69-93 last season and finished 25 back of Minnesota, which won 12 of 18 meetings between the clubs.

Cleveland (13-6), though, enters this contest with a one-game lead over second-place Kansas City. The Indians were two outs from building a three-game edge Thursday, but closer Chris Perez allowed two ninth-inning Royals runs, snapping a personal scoreless streak of 26 1/3 innings in a 3-2 loss.

Still, Cleveland is off to its best 19-game start since opening 14-5 in 1999.

The Indians continue their seven-game trip with Fausto Carmona (1-2, 4.74 ERA) on the mound. The right-hander, 1-1 with a 1.25 ERA in his last three starts, allowed five hits in seven innings and earned his first victory of the season Sunday in a 4-2 win over Baltimore.

“Yes, that’s very great,” Carmona told the Indians’ official website. “I’ll try to continue to pitch like that and keep going.”

The Indians did not score a run while the sinkerballer was in the game in his first three outings. Carmona may need some support at Minnesota, where he’s 0-2 with a 9.69 ERA in his last three starts.

The Twins (7-12) return home following a 3-5 trip that ended with Thursday’s 3-1 win over Baltimore. Jim Thome hit a solo homer and drove in two runs, while Michael Cuddyer went deep for the second straight game.

Minnesota entered the game with a major league-low six homers, but manager Ron Gardenhire wouldn’t be surprised if Thome’s blast — his 591st — ignites his bat and a Twins offense that’s scored an MLB-low 57 runs.

“That’s one thing he can do is swing the bat,” Gardenhire said.

The Indians don’t need to be reminded. The 40-year-old slugger, who hit a franchise-record 334 homers for Cleveland from 1991-2002, batted .313 with five home runs and nine RBIs against the Indians last season.

Minnesota could use continued production from Thome and Cuddyer, with Joe Mauer (leg weakness) on the disabled list and Justin Morneau (flu) and Delmon Young (ribs) questionable for the series opener.

While the Twins’ offense tries to get untracked, Brian Duensing (1-0, 3.60) hopes to shut down the Indians, who have an AL-best 99 runs.

In his last start, the left-hander helped the Twins snap their season-high four-game skid with seven strong innings in Sunday’s 4-2 win at Tampa Bay.

“We’ve been struggling a little bit lately,” Duensing said after the victory. “We got that win today and hopefully we’ll start rolling.”

Minnesota has won each of his three starts this season. Duensing is 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two starts against Cleveland.

The Indians have been outscored 26-8 during their losing streak in Minnesota.

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Felix Hernandez has overpowered the Chicago White Sox at home lately, a bad sign for a team that continues to struggle offensively.

Seeking a third straight winning decision, Hernandez takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners looking to extend his scoreless innings streak against Chicago at Safeco Field as the teams open a three-game set Friday night.

After going 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA in his first four starts this season, Hernandez (3-2, 3.21) has thrived in his three most recent outings, going 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA and striking out 22 in 20 2/3 innings.

The hard-throwing right-hander allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings and struck out a season-best 10 but didn’t factor in the decision of his most recent appearance, a 3-2 loss at Boston on Sunday.

Last year’s AL Cy Young winner has limited the White Sox (11-21) to eight hits over 15 scoreless innings in his last two starts in the series at home, striking out 18 over that span.

Manager Ozzie Guillen’s club, which has averaged just 2.5 runs en route to losing 17 of 21 overall, has been slumping even worse on the road. The White Sox have scored 2.1 runs per game during a 3-8 stretch away from home and likely aren’t looking forward to facing Hernandez.

“To win the Cy Young with (13) wins you have to be very good,” Guillen told MLB.com about his fellow Venezuela native. “It was great for our country. A little good news is great news. This kid was impressive, you don’t see many Cy Youngs won that way.”

After failing to record a hit in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota, the last-place White Sox fell 3-2 on Wednesday. They sit 11 games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland.

“A win would bring a smile to your face, a couple would be better,” infielder Omar Vizquel said. “It’s a continuation. You can’t expect to turn things around in one or two games. You got to play a whole week of good baseball.”

Chicago has a chance to do that starting with this series, as it has taken four straight and nine of 10 from Seattle — including a home win over Hernandez.

The White Sox, who held the Mariners (15-17) to a total of a three runs while taking two of three at Safeco last season, turn to Phil Humber (2-3, 3.06) on Friday.

Humber has surrendered just four hits and compiled a 1.29 ERA during his last two outings spanning 14 innings. The right-hander gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings of Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Baltimore.

“As far as personally, I wanted to go deep into the game and kind of keep us in it,” Humber said. “I felt like I pitched well the last time out and any time you get on a roll, you want to keep it going.”

Humber will try to slow down a Mariners team that has won seven of nine, including Thursday’s 3-1 victory over Texas. First baseman Justin Smoak continued his hot hitting, going 3 for 4 with a home run. He is batting .349 with four homers and 14 RBIs in his last 11 games.

“I love the fact he’s up there hitting,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He’s not up there trying to do too much. … He’s trusting his approach, he’s trusting his hands and when you do that and have ability good things are going to happen over time.”

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CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

Source

STATS LLC

CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

Source

STATS LLC

CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

Source

STATS LLC

Andre Ethier hasn’t been fooled by many pitchers during his long hitting streak. He’ll have to overcome some daunting numbers to keep the run going for another game.

Looking to extend his major league-record April hit streak to 25, Ethier and the Los Angeles Dodgers face Clayton Richard and the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Ethier’s home run in the 10th inning lifted Los Angeles (13-13) over Florida 5-4 on Wednesday in the finale of a six-game road trip, helping the Dodgers avoid a third straight loss. The right fielder went 2 for 5 to raise his average to .380, and he’s batting .402 during the hit streak.

Ethier has the longest hitting streak by a Dodger since Paul Lo Duca hit in 25 straight in 2003. He is the 11th player since 1919 to get at least a hit in 25 of his first 26 games.

“Our team has been on the brink of getting things really going,” Ethier said after Los Angeles finished its trip 3-3 and ended a run of 20 games in as many days. “We’re starting to figure things out offensively.”

Despite his red-hot start, Ethier has yet to figure out left-handed pitching this season. He is batting .207 (6 for 29) against left-handers as compared to .451 against right-handers.

Richard (1-1. 3.95 ERA) has limited Ethier to one hit in 13 at-bats, though left-handers are hitting .292 (7 for 24) off of him this season. He has gone 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in six career starts against Los Angeles.

Richard allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings last Friday but lost 2-0 to Philadelphia as the Padres’ eye-opening offensive problems continued.

San Diego (9-16), loser of six of seven, is last in the majors with 70 runs and has scored 16 over the last 10 games. It has been shut out seven times on the season.

That happened most recently Wednesday, when the Padres fell 7-0 to Atlanta. Mat Latos tied a club record by losing his ninth consecutive start and first baseman Brad Hawpe made an error in the second inning that led to five unearned runs.

Left fielder Ryan Ludwick went 0 for 3 to drop his average to .202. He has 21 strikeouts and 18 hits.

“We’re trying to grind it out,” second baseman Orlando Hudson told MLB.com after getting one of San Diego’s four hits. “I’ve seen it happen before; the tide will turn. Good things will happen.”

The Padres will look to reverse their fortunes against Ted Lilly (1-2, 5.13), who is coming off a rough outing. He allowed season highs of five runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 10-8 loss to Chicago on Saturday.

Lilly has gone 6-3 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 career starts against the Padres. He allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings at San Diego on April 8 before the game was suspended due to rain.

Richard also started that contest, pitching one inning and not returning after the contest resumed. The Dodgers went on to win 4-2 in 11 innings and took two of three in the teams’ only series of the season.

Ludwick is 5 for 34 (.147) against Lilly.

San Diego has won three of the last four meetings in Los Angeles.

Source

STATS LLC

CC Sabathia owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the New York Yankees and has been beaten just once this season. The ace, however, is still searching for his first win.

That drought appears set to end Friday night.

Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees rolling against the Baltimore Orioles by continuing his own dominance of New York’s AL East rivals in the opener of this three-game series in Baltimore.

Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA) has gone four starts without a win, and extending that run Friday would give the left-hander his longest season-opening drought since going 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA though six starts with Cleveland in 2003.

Facing the Orioles (8-10) may be the ideal chance for the four-time All-Star to get his first victory.

Sabathia is 14-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 career starts against Baltimore, going 8-1 in 10 visits to Camden Yards and winning the last five with the Yankees (10-6) behind a 2.15 ERA.

That dominance is partly why New York has won 15 of the last 19 meetings with the Orioles, including a rain-shortened two-game sweep at home April 13-14.

The Yankees have won five of seven overall after beating Toronto 6-2 on Wednesday.

“To me, every game means the same, in a sense,” manager Joe Girardi told the team’s official website. “The games you win now, maybe it’s less pressure later on in the season.”

Curtis Granderson is providing major punch at the plate, going 10 for 23 with four homers, six RBIs and seven runs over the last six games. He’s connected for a homer in three consecutive contests, equaling his career high from Sept. 27-29, 2009.

Granderson is among the MLB leaders with six homers, matching his total through 47 games last year — his first with New York. He’s a big reason the Yankees top the majors with 30 homers, and Girardi isn’t surprised.

“We always knew he had a lot of power,” he said. “I think what you’re seeing is more consistent contact, hitting the ball harder on a consistent basis.”

Granderson had a pair of doubles in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Baltimore in last week’s series finale.

The Orioles have dropped nine of 11 since their 6-1 start, and would like to show some improvement at the plate against Sabathia.

Their .235 average is near the bottom of the AL, and they’ve scored more than five runs just twice. Baltimore was stifled offensively again Thursday, mustering seven hits in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota to split a four-game set.

Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters accounted for four of the Orioles’ hits as they continue to hit the ball hard.

Guerrero has collected six hits with two homers and five RBIs over the last three games, giving him a .322 average while driving in nine runs in his last 14 contests.

Wieters is 7 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. He had a double and a homer with two RBIs in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on April 13.

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38) fanned two in two perfect innings of relief in that game, but he’s 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

The right-hander hopes to bounce back from Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Cleveland, where he surrendered three runs and six hits — two homers — in five innings.

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