After kicking things off with three games against the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees will conclude their homestand with three more contests against the Texas Rangers.
This will be the second head-to-head meeting of 2023 between New York and Texas. The first round went to the Rangers, who took three of four at Globe Life Park at the end of April. It included three straight wins after losing the series opener.
Here’s what the probable pitching matchups look like at the moment.
Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET: Clarke Schmidt vs. Dane Dunning
After a tough start against the Rays on May 14th, Schmidt’s season-long ERA was up at 6.30. It’s gone down with each start since and is currently sitting at 4.65. He struck out eight Rangers in five innings at Globe Life Park earlier this year but also allowed five earned runs.
Dane Dunning enters this matchup with a 2.78 ERA. That number is up at 4.98 across his last 21.2 innings (four starts). The hurler faced the Yankees in Texas at the end of April, allowing two runs on three hits, and one strikeout in 3.1 innings. He did that in relief of Jacob deGrom, who exited that contest early.
Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET: Luis Severino vs. Jon Gray
Luis Severino is looking to get himself on track. He’s allowed at least four runs in each of his last four starts. Not all of them were earned, but it’s not the kind of performance the right-hander is looking for right now. In 22 career innings against the Rangers, Sevy owns a 3.68 ERA. His most recent start against Texas came last year when he racked up seven strikeouts across seven shutout innings.
Through 76 innings this season, Jon Gray has posted a 2.96 ERA. That’s a full run better than what he finished up with for the Rangers in 2022. He didn’t get to face the Yankees during their first series in Texas. This will be his fourth career start against the Bombers, though. He owns a 4.40 ERA in 14 innings against New York thus far. Two of his starts came last year, which yielded a 2.61 ERA across 10.1 frames.
Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET: Gerrit Cole vs. Nathan Eovaldi
Gerrit Cole will be bringing the noise, funk, and his wagging finger to the finale of the homestand. He’s produced four straight quality starts since allowing five runs to the San Diego Padres on May 28th. His most recent start against the Mariners was his longest since his complete-game effort on April 16th. He lasted 7.1 innings, allowing just one run on four hits, and one walk with eight strikeouts. Cole also struck out eight while allowing two runs in 6.2 innings in his first start against the Rangers this year.
The Yankees will face old friend Nathan Eovaldi for the second time this year. New York’s bats will try to do something this time around, unlike their first matchup. The right-hander tossed a complete-game shutout in Texas against the Yankees on April 29th, allowing just three hits and no walks with eight strikeouts.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
