New York Yankees

Seeking a second straight series win, the New York Yankees have the right man on the mound to silence a potent Detroit Tigers lineup.

  • Detroit Tigers (30-30)
  • New York Yankees (31-30)
  • American League, 7:15 pm ET, FOX
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Another masterful performance out of CC Sabathia propelled the New York Yankees to their fifth straight win and an above .500 record for the first time since April 13. Tonight, they look to take the series from the Detroit Tigers and make an already great home stand an exceptional one.

They will certainly have the right man on the mound to accomplish the task. Masahiro Tanaka has allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his 12 starts this year, possesses a brilliant 2.76 ERA, and brings with him the second lowest WHIP in the American League (1.01). In his most recent start, opening the home stand, he kept the Yankees in a 2-0 game before the offense broke through to start the winning streak. However, the Yankee ace has struggled to an extent in two career starts against Detroit in which he is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA.

Opposing him will be former Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who displays flashes of brilliance from time to time but is only a fraction of what he once was. With that being said, he was found himself more of a true identity in 2016. After an extremely shaky start to the season, he has pitched to a 2.01 ERA in his last six starts.

The 33-year-old still has an ability to set opposing batters aside with ease as he has struck out 85 in 79 1/3 innings this season. His WHIP also sits at a stellar 1.07. Verlander has learned how to utilize relatively diminished stuff en route to surrendering only 62 hits in those innings. The home run bug remains a problem for the right-hander, however, as opposing teams have blasted 10 long balls in 12 starts this season.

Back in June of last year, the Bombers tagged Verlander for 10 hits and six runs in his most recent appearance to date against the club.

Lineups

In an attempt to overcome counterparts who can both absolutely dominate a game on any given night, skippers Joe Girardi and Brad Ausmus put these respective lineups together.

Players To Watch

Alex Rodriguez (NYY)

A-Rod has raked off Verlander throughout his career. In 32 career at-bats against the Detroit starter, he has slashed an outstanding .344/.432/.844 with five homers and 10 runs batted in. He also collected his 3,000th hit off the right-hander, blasting a home run to right field at Yankee Stadium last June.

The 40-year-old has also picked things up of late, going 10-29 (.345) with six RBIs in his last seven games. If history holds true, look for Rodriguez to be a key performer in tonight’s game.

J.D. Martinez (DET)

Despite his 12 home runs, Martinez has had a down year when comparing it to his outbursts of the past two seasons. However, something seems to click when he faces Tanaka.

He has four hits in six career at bats against the right-hander, among those two home runs and two doubles.

The duo of dingers came in the same game against Tanaka on June 22 of last year, when Martinez ended up going deep three times in one afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

First pitch will commence at 7:15 pm ET from the Bronx as the Yankees look to improve to 4-1 against the Tigers this season and 6-0 on their current seven game home stand. The game can be seen nationally on FOX and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM.

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