The Yankees will win It’s not the end of the world but it would be good if the Yankees slammed the Orioles tomorrow to give Yankee fans confidence in their team. I read Bryan Hoch’s piece at the Yankees’ official site and he said that Wang is 3-1 with a 5.13 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against Baltimore. Is that what we need in just the second game of the season? Another blow out loss? It won’t end with the Yankees losing. I believe Wang will give up 4 runs and get a win because the pitcher the Yankees are facing, Koji Uehara is pitching in his first major league game. Sure, Koji Uehara was a star for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan but look at Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first year. Matsuzaka didn’t dominate like he did in Japan. He finished with a 4.40 era. Not only that, but according to Peter Abraham, Koji Uehara’s performance has slipped in recent seasons in Japan. That doesn’t spell success against the Yankees. I think the Yankees are going to rock him for 6 runs before he’s taken out. I don’t care who you are, if you’re facing the best batters in the world and it’s your first time under the microscope and you’ve slipped as a pitcher, you’re getting rocked. This guy won’t survive. Chien-Ming Wang has a lot of major league experience and I don’t believe he could possibly face any jitters. Even though his era against Baltimore isn’t good, he will pitch better than he usually does because he’ll feel the Yankees need him to. These are my predictions for tomorrow: Koji Uehara gives up 2 home runs and 6 earned runs total. Wang gives up 4 earned runs. 3 runs will be off a home run. That will be one of the only mistake he makes. Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon will score 2 runs a piece and Hideki Matsui will hit a grand slam off of Uehara and welcome him to the major leagues. I believe the Yankees will score 9 runs off the Orioles and win 9-5.
