The season-opening series at home went pretty well for the Yankees. Aaron Judge is back to slugging dingers at a frequent pace. Giancarlo Stanton also hit one that probably hasn’t landed yet. And last, but most certainly not least, they took two of three against the San Francisco Giants.
Before hitting the road to face the Baltimore Orioles, New York will host the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game set at Yankee Stadium. Here’s what the probable pitching matchups look like at the moment.
Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET: Nestor Cortes vs. Taijuan Walker
The breakout continued for Nestor Cortes in 2022. In a career-high 158.1 innings, he was elected to the All-Star Game and finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting thanks to a 2.44 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He’ll be toeing the slab in a comfortable environment on Monday, too. In 15 home starts last year (87.2 innings), Cortes posted a 1.95 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 89 strikeouts.
Taijuan Walker will be making his Phillies debut, but will also be doing it in a familiar place. He just spent the last two seasons across town with the Mets. The right-hander has started eight games in his career against the Yankees (42 innings). During that time, he’s posted a 2-3 record with a 4.07 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.
Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET: Domingo German vs. Matt Strahm
Domingo German rounds out New York’s rotation (for now) with his season debut on Tuesday night. He’ll be looking to shake off what was a rough spring. Through 10.1 innings, German posted an 8.71 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. He did strikeout 11 and only walked one, which is a good sign, but he also allowed 14 hits, with four of them being homers.
After finishing a game as a reliever during Philly’s series against the Rangers, Matt Strahm will now start one for the Fightins. The hurler has appeared in 10 games against New York, with just one of them being a start. Across the 14.2 innings he’s racked up, he owns a 2.45 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 19 strikeouts.
Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. ET: Gerrit Cole vs. Aaron Nola
There’s nothing quite like a battle of the aces on getaway day, right? With the pitch clock in play, it could very well be one of those two-hour games before both squads go their separate ways. Gerrit Cole is coming off setting a franchise record for Opening Day strikeouts with 11, so he’s feeling good right now.
As for Aaron Nola? Well, not so much. The Phillies knocked Jacob deGrom around in his Rangers debut, but Nola couldn’t keep the Texas bats quiet himself. He failed to complete four innings, allowing five runs on four hits (one homer), two walks, and four strikeouts. Nola has great career stats against the Yankees (2.37 ERA in 19 innings), but they’re not as great at Yankee Stadium (6.75 ERA in 5.1 innings).
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You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
