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The atmosphere of playing in Yankee Stadium failed to faze likely All-Star Edinson Volquez. The Cincinnati Reds can only hope the same for Daryl Thompson, who makes his major league debut Saturday afternoon when they continue a three-game series with the New York Yankees.
Volquez all but cemented his roster spot on the National League All-Star team, which would mean a return trip to Yankee Stadium next month, in Friday’s 4-2 victory. He allowed two runs in seven innings for his third straight win, ended Cincinnati’s skid at five games and halted New York’s season-high win streak at seven.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made New York -180 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 10.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 72% of bets for this game have been placed on New York -180 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
"He was sharp, didn’t look like the crowd or Yankee Stadium bothered him at all," manager Dusty Baker said of the 24-year-old Volquez, whose ERA actually rose to 1.71 as he improved to 10-2. "I mean he was out there just as poised as we’d always seen him."
The 22-year-old Thompson now gets the chance to make his mark in the final year of the current Yankee Stadium after he was recalled from Triple-A Louisville. He has gone 6-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 14 starts at both Louisville and Double-A Chattanooga after pitching at Single A in 2007.
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In his four starts with the Bats, Thompson compiled 22 strikeouts in 27 2-3 innings. He came within one out of a complete game on June 14, giving up five hits in a 4-1 victory over Rochester.
Thompson is the first pitcher to make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium since Anibal Sanchez threw 5 2-3 innings in a 5-0 win for the Florida Marlins on June 25, 2006.
Rookie center fielder Jay Bruce went 1-for-4, but is 3-for-24 with 11 strikeouts in his last six games. The 21-year-old had gone 26-for-68 (.382) with only 12 strikeouts in his first 18 games.
Jolbert Cabrera snapped a 1-all tie with a fifth-inning double and finished 4-for-4 for the Reds (34-41), but is heading to the disabled list. Cabrera – the fourth Reds shortstop to land on the DL – dislocated his left index finger sliding into second base in the seventh inning and had to be hospitalized to reduce the swelling.
Left fielder Johnny Damon had an RBI single for New York (40-34), but also misjudged a sinking line drive by Edwin Encarnacion that started the Reds’ decisive rally in the fifth.
"Unfortunately, losing that ball in the lights cost us three,” Damon said. "I saw it, felt like I had a bead on it. It’s like you’re seeing shadows and you try to stick your glove in the right spot. I almost had it in the right spot.”
Yankees starter Dan Giese (1-1, 1.23) has slightly more experience than Thompson, but also will be making his first major league start. The right-hander has allowed one run in 7 1-3 innings spanning three relief appearances this year, and this will be his 12th overall game.
Giese pitched a scoreless inning last Saturday at Houston and prior to that, notched his first big-league victory with 2 2-3 hitless innings against Kansas City on June 8.
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