1 Pitching
When the Yankees swept the Rangers in April at the Stadium, their rotation posted a 1.28 ERA over 27 innings and allowed just one stolen base and six walks. If they get anything close to that, or similar to what Phil Hughes or Andy Pettitte provided in the final two games against the Twins, it’s a good sign.
2 Hot hitting
The Yankees frequently talk about length in their lineup, and it was evident in the .314 batting average against the Twins. Repeating a .300 average against Texas is much more difficult, but if they can get enough big, clutch hits to complement good pitching performances, they’ll be tough to beat, especially at home.
3 So close before
The Yankees were five games over .500 away from the Bronx, but that mark would have been higher with a better performance in Texas. The Yankees allowed seven stolen bases in losing four of five there and in three one-run losses, the bullpen allowed eight runs in 13 2/3 innings. They’ve had time to clean it up.
