Yankees playing decent in a land that is not familiar.

How well should a lineup fare against a young, unproven pitcher?

How much are they required to mash against a guy on the mound that they have never "seen" before?

I am not totally sure.  But I will give it a whirl, statistics aside for just a second.

Against a young, unproven pitcher, a veteran lineup--such as the Yankees--should probably do relatively well.  They should exude patience, and show the opposing arm that they must not only throw strikes, but command those "strikes" as well.

As far as mashing?  Well it generally takes time to adjust to an unfamiliar pitcher.  The delivery may be similiar to another pitcher that has faced the given lineup, but there are always slight differences.  And the stuff varies from pitcher to pitcher, along with how well they can command that "stuff" too.

Aside from recent struggles against National League pitchers--ones that the Yankees lineup have never faced before--The Bombers have actually had a decent amount of success.

Actually, the Yankees have an 11-9 record against pitchers they had yet to face at the time of their meeting.

And with an ERA of 4.57 that's actually higher than the MLB average of 4.32.

So 11-9, with a 4.57 ERA the Yankees lineup is against pitchers that have never squared off against them before.

That sounds pretty good to me.

But lately, the Yankees have not had success.  For in eight of the last nine games played, they have faced a National League pitcher, one that of course has not been seen by their veteran lineup, collectively.  And they have a 2-6 record in these games, with a 2.56 Earned Run Average.

So struggles have occurred recently.  But it hasn't happened all year, as that 4.57 ERA indicates.

Yankees fans should not panic.  They have a great lineup.  And even though sometimes little things like facing a pitcher a team has never seen can induce a few worries, it isn't anything that a few numbers--like these--cannot cure.

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