The New York Yankees welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to the Bronx this weekend as they look to rebound from their abhorrent play.
By Christian Kouroupakis
The Rays are heading over to the series at Yankee Stadium with tons of momentum having won four of five including Thursday night’s 12-8 victory against the Boston Red Sox.
The pressing Yankees are on the opposite side of the spectrum. They have scored an anemic 2.25 runs per game in their last eight games and own a 1-7 record in that span.
They are also batting .212 in that span and own a .101 average with runners in scoring position in the last three series (nine games).
Their current start (5-9) is the worst start since 2005 when that Yankee squad owned an identical record.
To be optimistic, that team ended up winning 95 games along with the American League East title. The 2016 Yankees must fix their untimely hitting and inconsistent pitching if their fate is to be the same.
The Bombers will look to begin the return to normalcy this weekend, and here’s everything you need to know before tonight’s first pitch.
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.
Keys To A Series Win:
Be Patient:
In the first five games of 2016, the New York Yankees’ offense averaged seven runs per game, so we all know how good they are when they’re on.
When everything is working, New York’s offense consists of two of the fastest players in baseball (Jacoby Ellsbury,Brett Gardner) to set the table. Following them is Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann.
The powerful middle of the order is followed with a more-than-capable back end featuring Chase Headley, Starlin Castro, and Didi Gregorius.
This lineup is too good to be this bad over a long period of time. The key to breaking out of this aggravating slump is to simply stop trying to do too much and get back to the basics.
Continue Solid Starting Pitching:
After the rotation hit a rough patch in the first two series of 2016, Yankee starters quietly tossed quality starts in each of the past four games.
To attempt to compensate for the lack of offensive production, starting pitching must be able to keep New York in the game until there’s a spark in the lineup.
Player To Watch:
Evan Longoria:
Yankee Stadium has been very kind to the three-time American League All-Star.
In 59 games in the Bronx, Longoria has a .288/.361/.545 slash line with 14 home runs and 41 RBI. To make him even more interesting to watch this series is that he absolutely rakes of tonight’s starter, CC Sabathia.
The 2008 Rookie of The Year has an impressive .375/.487/.781 slash line with six home runs and 14 RBI in 64 at-bats against the big left-hander.
Longoria’s 41 RBI is the most of any visitor at the New Yankee Stadium while his 14 homers are second most to Jose Bautista’s 17.
Game Times And Predictions:
- Game 1: Friday, 7:05 PM ET, YES
- Game 2: Saturday, 1:05 PM ET, YES/MLBN
- Game 3: Sunday, 1:05 PM ET, YES
Boy… the Yankees could really use a win.
In the course of a 162-game season, a whole lot can change. But what the Yankees are proving right now is that without injuries -their preseason question mark- the team has the ability to rot in the cellar of the AL East.
The Yankees have to show everyone these are in fact hard times and not a sign of the true potential this squad has.
Nothing would feel better than making this slump a thing of the past against one of their divisional rivals.
Bold Prediction:
The Yankees finally break out of their slump and prevail in this weekend’s series. They’ll win 2-out-of-3 and CC Sabathia will get the win in tonight’s start.