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As Phil Gurnee noted in his series preview, the Dodgers are facing an opponent in the Yankees with a lineup more depleted than their own. The Yankees suffered a pair of blows on Tuesday that will continue the pain, as first baseman Mark Teixeira was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and third baseman Kevin Youkilis will miss 10-12 weeks.
Teixeira left Saturday's game and was diagnosed Sunday with inflammation in his right wrist, the injury he suffered during the World Baseball Classic in March. The Yankees also designated right-handed pitcher Chris Bootcheck for assignment, and recalled right-handed pitcher Adam Warren and outfielder Zolio Almonte from Triple-A.
Youkilis was placed on the disabled list on Friday with a lumbar strain, but on Tuesday it was revealed he will have surgery to repair a herniated disc on Thursday. As Tanya Bondurant at Pinstriped Bible noted, the Yankees' problems at third base have a familiar ring to Dodgers fans in more ways than one:
The team will stick with David Adams and Jayson Nix at third base until Alex Rodriguez returns. Ronnier Mustelier at Triple-A does present a third base option, but he is currently on the DL for the RailRiders and doesn't have a spot on the 40-man roster. If you want to go a step more desperate, Josh Bell also plays third base for the RailRiders. Nothing seems like a great, surefire solution, but Youkilis hadn't done much since early this season anyway, so this seems mainly like moving furniture around, regardless of who they go with.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes has a brief history against only a few Dodgers. Adrian Gonzalez is 5-for-14 (.357) with a double against Hughes, while Nick Punto is 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles against the right-hander. Mark Ellis is 1-for-2 against Hughes, Juan Uribe is 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and Hanley Ramirez is 0-for-1
Throwing out the ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before the games against the Dodgers are golfer Bubba Watson (Tuesday) and new Nets head coach and recently retired NBA player Jason Kidd (Wednesday).
Game info
Time: 4:05 p.m.
TV: KCAL, MLB Network