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Game 69: Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, Stroman vs. Tanaka

Tanaka Time Again

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Did you notice that extra spring in your step today?

That's because tonight, the 1st place team in the AL East plays the 2nd place team. Tonight, the Yankees play what feels like one of the first deeply meaningful games of the season.

If the Blue Jays can take this series from the Yankees, they have the opportunity to put some significant distance between themselves and the rest of the league. If the Yankees can take the series from the Jays, they can close that gap and look forward to a fight through the rest of the summer.

And, by the way, it's Tanaka Time.

PS. I'm sorry, but I decided not to use one of the MMA pictures that came up when I searched for Tanaka, but there were some sweet ones there that I felt would have been appropriate.

Today's Lineups

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NEW YORK YANKEES
Jose Reyes - SS Brett Gardner - LF
Melky Cabrera - LF Derek Jeter - SS
Jose Bautista - RF Jacoby Ellsbury - CF
Edwin Encarnacion - 1B Mark Teixeira - 1B
Brett Lawrie - 3B Brian McCann - C
Dioner Navarro - C Carlos Beltran - DH
Juan Francisco - DH Ichiro Suzuki - RF
Munenori Kawasaki - 2B Brian Roberts - 2B
Anthony Gose - CF Kelly Johnson - 3B
Marcus Stroman - RHP Masahiro Tanaka - RHP