Yankees (27-23) At Tigers (24-27) Preview: Game Time, TV Schedule, Probable Pitchers

The New York Yankees finish a nine-game road trip with a three-game series against the Detroit beginning Friday night at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Yankees are 4-2 on the current trip, having swept three games from the Oakland Athletics, but then lost two of three to the Los Angeles Angels.

The series against the Tigers begins with neither team having enjoyed the type of season they had hoped for thus far. These two teams met in the 2011 American League Division Series, and both were favored to win their divisions again this season. That may yet happen, but roughly one-third of the way through the 2012 season the Yankees are 27-23, third in the American League East 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles and the Tigers are below .500 at 24-27, five games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division.

The Yankees would appear to have an advantage in Friday's series opener as they are pitching ace CC Sabathia (6-2, 3.66 ERA) while Detroit is sending 23-year-old left-hander Casey Crosby to the mound to make his major-league debut. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET. It will be televised on YES and the MLB Network.

Part of the reason for the Yankees' inconsistency thus far this season has been an inability to drive in runs with runners in scoring position. The Yankees are hitting just .152 (21-for-138) in that situation since May 13.

Here are the pitching matchups for the rest of the series:

• Saturday: Hiroki Kuroda, Yankees (4-6, 3.96 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello, Tigers (3-4, 5.21)
• Sunday: Phil Hughes, Yankees (4-5, 5.64) vs. Justin Verlander, Tigers (5-3, 2.55)

-- See Pinstripe Alley for more discussion and analysis of the Yankees