On Wednesday night veteran Hiroki Kuroda will face off against 23 year old right-hander Jarred Cosart. Kuroda, however, has utterly dominated the Astros. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.39 ERA in eight career starts against them and carries a 22-inning shutout streak versus the Astros into this start. Kuroda fanned eight over seven innings in the most recent meeting, a 7-4 win April 30. That was part of Kuroda's first 24 starts of last season, going 11-7 with a 2.33 ERA. However, he faltered down the stretch, going 0-6 with a 6.56 ERA in his final eight. He seems to start well and fade after the AllStar break. He showed some promise of getting off to a strong start this year -- striking out 12 in 11 1/3 innings over four games in spring training -- and the six runs he allowed all came in one start.
Cosart earned just two decisions in 10 starts last year, and both of those came on the road. He was 1-1 with an impressive 1.95 ERA overall, but was 0-0 with a 3.94 ERA in three home starts. He's apparently dealing with a blister, which could be slightly bothersome but won't prevent him from starting. While his ERA looks great, when you dig a little deeper, you can see that he walked 35 batters in just 60 innings pitched in 2013. He could be in trouble putting runners on base against the Yankees as NY has patient hitters and veterans who will take advantage here today.