The New York Yankees are set to take on the Chicago White Sox in the final game of this 10-game homestand.
- Chicago White Sox (24-13)
- New York Yankees (15-20)
- American League, 1:05 PM ET, YES Network
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
By Christian Kouroupakis
Yesterday, thanks to a 2-1 victory over the same Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees secured a winning homestand and now they have a chance to put the icing on the cake before they hit the road.
The last-place Yankees improved to 6-3 on the homestand with as they took the series against the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals and can secure a third with a win.
They will send their ace Masahiro Tanaka to the hill against Miguel Gonzalez.
Tanaka tied a career-high with six earned runs and surrendered three home runs last outing against the Kansas City Royals. However, he showed his grit by grinding through seven innings with only 79 pitches thrown. That outing was the first time he surrendered for than two runs in 2016.
Against the White Sox, Tanaka is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA with six strikeouts in his lone start in which he tossed 6.2 innings. Brett Lawrie is 2-for-9 against him and Melky Cabrera is 2-for-6 with a home run.
Gonzalez is a new addition to the White Sox went 5.2 innings in a no-decision effort against the Texas Rangers. The former Baltimore Oriole is 3-4 in a dozen starts against the Yankees with a 4.03 ERA.
Mark Teixeira is two for his last 19 at bats and only has one double off of Gonzalez in 14 at-bats.
Some good health news came today as Jacoby Ellsbury will make his return to the lineup for the first time since being sidelined with a hip injury May 6. On Saturday, he got back in action as a defensive replacement but did not have an at-bat.
In his last five games played, the center fielder is hitting .364 with an OPS of .955.
Also, CC Sabathia threw a 45-pitch simulated game this morning with no setbacks while stressing the fact that he is ready to return to action. According to Meredith Marakovits, he expects to start in Oakland on Friday.
First pitch of today’s contest will be among us at 1:05 PM ET but coverage will begin on the YES Network at noon.
Yankees: OF Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) returns to starting lineup for first time since May 6 on Sunday vs. White Sox (ESPN) …
— Brian (@Brian_Capozzi) May 15, 2016
CC Sabathia threw a 45 pitch sim game this morning. No issues. Emphasized he is ready to go. Expects to get start Friday in Oakland #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) May 15, 2016
Today’s @yankees lineup vs. the White Sox. Coverage begins at 12:30pm on @YESNetwork. First pitch at 1:05pm. pic.twitter.com/ngFTQMqhA4
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) May 15, 2016
#WhiteSox lineup @ NYY (Tanaka)
RF Eaton
C Jackson
1B Abreu
3B Frazier
LF Cabrera
2B Lawrie
DH Garcia
C Avila
SS SaladinoP Gonzalez
— Today in the MLB (@TodayintheMLB) May 15, 2016