Sat Aug 16 10:29:41 2008

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Sputtering Yanks seeking turnaround against Royals

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(Sports Network) - The New York Yankees try to get their fading playoff hopes back on track this afternoon, when they play the second of three weekend games against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium.

New York fell further behind in the playoff races on Friday, when Esteban German had two doubles and scored twice -- including the go-ahead run in the ninth inning -- to lead the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Yankees in the opener of this three-game set.

The Royals went ahead for good in the ninth off Mariano Rivera (4-5). German doubled with one out and Mitch Maier followed with a single. Rivera then uncorked his first wild pitch of the season, allowing German to score and give Kansas City a one-run edge.

New York loaded the bases off Joakim Soria in the ninth, but the Royals closer managed to pick up his 33th save of the season after getting Jason Giambi to fly out and end the game.

The Yankees left 11 men on base and were just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Mark Teahen drove in two runs for the Royals, who have recorded wins in just two of their last nine contests. Leo Nunez (4-1) picked up the win after he tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.

Jeter, who sat out Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Minnesota with a bruised instep, went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for the Yankees, who have dropped six of their last seven games to fall 10 1/2 back of first-place Tampa Bay in the American League East and seven behind Boston in the wild-card standings.

Hoping to resuscitate the Yankees' fleeting hopes this afternoon will be right-hander Sidney Ponson, who is 7-3 with a 4.27 ERA. Ponson was charged with the loss on Monday in Minnesota, when he surrendered four runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Ponson defeated Kansas City earlier in the year while with Texas and is 10-7 lifetime against the Royals with a 4.38 ERA in 20 starts.

The Royals will counter with righty Zack Greinke, who has dropped four of his last six decisions. Greinke was hit hard by the Twins last Saturday, as he allowed six runs (5 earned) and nine hits in five innings to fall to 9-8 with a 4.09 ERA on the year.

Following that contest, Greinke served a five-game suspension for throwing at Chicago's Nick Swisher following a bench-clearing brawl with the White Sox on August 3.

The 24-year-old right-hander lost to Ponson, who was then pitching for the Rangers, on May 1 and fell to the Yankees the last time he faced them on June 8. He is 2-3 in his young career against the Yanks with a 6.25 ERA in nine games, six of which have been starts.

Kansas City has won five of its eight matchups with the Yankees this season.