The Yankees will be squaring off against the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game series this weekend where New York will be looking to rebound from Wednesday night’s loss.
- New York Yankees (44-20)
- Tampa Bay Rays (32-35)
- 6-14/6-17, Start times (7:05PM, 7:05PM, 1:05 PM, 2:05 PM) ET
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
These two teams have not faced one another since early April when the Yankees took two games from the Rays, 11-4 and 7-2. The first game of that three-game series was postponed due to rain. With a strong weekend, The Bronx Bombers will have a chance to take a stranglehold on their head to head season series versus the Rays.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday (6/14)
Domingo German (0-4, 5.32 ERA) vs Blake Snell (8-3, 2.30 ERA)
On Thursday, the Rays will give the ball to one of the most improved pitchers in all of baseball, Blake Snell. Once known as the overall No. 1 pitching prospect, Snell finished his 2017 campaign with a 4.04 ERA. Through 14 starts this season Snell is carrying a 2.30 ERA which trails only Justin Verlander, Corey Kluber, Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino in the American League. Even more eye-opening is that Snell has allowed just one earned run in his last 23.2 innings (4 starts).
Domingo German will be on the bump and is coming off a strong start vs the Mets where he tossed 6 innings and fanned 9. While he surrendered three earned runs, all three came in the first inning before dominating the next five. German will look to chalk up his first major league win as he is yet to do so through six starts this season.
Friday (6/15)
Jonathan Loaisiga (MLB Debut) vs Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 3.94 ERA)
Yes, you read that correctly, Nathan Eovaldi. The former Yankee returned from his second Tommy John surgery on May 30th when he threw six no-hit shutout innings for the Rays in Oakland while fanning four and allowing just one walk. In his last two starts, Eovaldi has gone five innings in each while allowing four earned runs in Washington and three earned runs at home vs Seattle.
The Yankees will turn to Jonathan Loaisiga (Loh-AYE-see-gah) on Friday in place of Masahiro Tanaka. You can find all you need to know about the 23-year-old who has appeared in just 26 minor league games since signing with the Yankees in 2016 right here.
He is said to have great command down in the strike zone with his three pitches being a 95-98 MPH fastball, a low 80’s curveball with an above average spin rate and a tailing changeup.
Saturday (6/16)
Luis Severino (9-2, 2.27 ERA) vs TBA
The Yankees ace, Luis Severino will get the nod on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx as he looks to win his 10th game of the season. This would put him atop the AL lead in wins with Corey Kluber. Sevy faced the Rays on April 4 and went 7.1 IP, allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out seven.
Sunday (6/17)
CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.27 ERA) vs TBA
Carsten Charles will close out this series with his third appearance in the month of June. So far, June has been good to CC as he is 2-0 and has surrendered just two earned runs across 12.2 IP. He is coming off a strong outing vs the Nationals where he didn’t allow a run to cross through 5.2 IP.
Predictions:
While a sweep is what we all would like to see, I see the Yankees taking three of four from the Rays this weekend. I believe they will lose one of the first two games of the series before finishing the series strong with wins on Saturday and Sunday. The Yankees will improve to 6-1 vs the Rays in 2018 with 12 games remaining between the two squads.