Major League Baseball

Brewers-Yankees Preview

Published Jun. 30, 2011 1:18 a.m. ET

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Before CC Sabathia joined the New York Yankees, he provided Milwaukee Brewers fans with a brief but thrilling stint with the club.

He'll face the Brewers for the first time since leaving town as he tries to become baseball's first 11-game winner Thursday in the Bronx.

The Brewers were in a tight pennant race when they acquired Sabathia (10-4, 3.25 ERA) from Cleveland on July 7, 2008. He was outstanding in 17 starts, going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and pitching on three days' rest for the final three to give Milwaukee a boost down the stretch.

His stellar pitching was one of the major reasons why the Brewers (44-37) earned the NL wild-card berth for their lone postseason appearance since 1982.

Milwaukee never had a chance to keep the left-hander once New York (47-31) offered him a seven-year, $161 million contract. Sabathia has lived up to that contract thus far for the Yankees, and he's 7-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his last eight starts.

He won his third straight outing Saturday against Colorado by allowing one run in eight innings, striking out nine in an 8-3 victory.

"He's the same guy every day," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He just goes out and pitches and wins ballgames. That's what he does."

This will be Sabathia's first look at Brewers sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Milwaukee and Florida are the only teams Sabathia has yet to beat - he's 0-1 with a 4.85 ERA in two starts against the Brewers, but hasn't faced them since 2006.

The Yankees are seeking a fifth straight win overall and a three-game sweep after they clinched their fifth consecutive interleague series with Wednesday's 5-2 victory. Russell Martin hit a three-run homer and Jorge Posada also went deep for New York, which has homered eight times during its four-game win streak to bring its major league-best total to 115.

Mark Teixeira went 0 for 4 on Wednesday after homering in his three previous games.

Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 24 chances. He hasn't allowed a run at home in 20 innings this season.

Milwaukee fell to 15-26 on the road, the worst record among winning teams in the majors. The NL Central leaders are 29-11 at home.

"I'm hoping this team is what we all feel it is, and that's a team that can play with anybody," manager Ron Roenicke said. "When we're playing our good game, I feel good about us."

Braun went 3 for 4 to extend his career-best hitting streak to 19 games. He's batting .347 with 17 RBIs during his run, while Fielder is hitting .371 during an 11-game streak.

The Brewers have won six of the last seven games started by Randy Wolf (6-4, 3.20), who is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in that span. Wolf won his second straight outing Friday by limiting Minnesota to three runs over seven innings of a 4-3 home victory.

The left-hander is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two starts against the Yankees.

These teams also completed a trade after Wednesday's game. Milwaukee dealt Sergio Mitre to New York for cash after the Brewers designated the pitcher for assignment Monday.

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