Pitching Matchups:
Game 1: Matt Moore (1-0, 2.95 ERA) vs CC Sabathia (1-1, 5.06)
CC Sabathia will take the mound for New York while Matt Moore will oppose him for the Rays in game one on Friday night.
Sabathia owns a 5.06 ERA on this young season but his new cutter has allowed himself to become valuable yet again for the Yankees.
Moore is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 2016 and has some quality success against the Bombers. In 10 career starts against them, Moore is 5-2 with a 3.83 ERA with a 9.0 K/9 ratio.
Game 2: Blake Snell (MLB Debut) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.06 ERA)
Tanaka was sharp effort last time out as he limited the Seattle Mariners to three runs (two earned) on six hits over seven innings pitched.
To put the icing on the cake, he rose to the occasion by outpitching his former Japanese teammate Hisashi Iwakuma.
In his career against the Rays, Tanaka is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three games.
Game 3: Drew Smyly (0-2, 2.91 ERA) vs Michael Pineda (1-1, 5.29)
Smyly had all four of his pitches working in his no-decision against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. The lefty tossed eight scoreless innings and only surrendered one hit while striking out 11.
Big Mike’s ERA is still influenced by his season debut against the Houston Astros but he delivered a quality start in his last outing.
Pineda held the Oakland Athletics to two runs and seven hits over six innings while striking out seven. In seven career starts against the Rays, he is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
