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New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays: CC Sabathia vs. Alex Colome

Can CC Sabathia get himself in the win column? We'll find out tonight, as the Yankees take on the Rays in a key early AL East battle.

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

It's that time of the week again, as CC Sabathia takes the hill in Tampa Bay to try to finally get himself into the win column against the Rays. The Yankees are firing on most of their cylinders right now, as they have won 17 out of 23 and lead the league in team ERA (no thanks to CC's 5.45). This will be Sabathia's first start against Tampa in 2015, which is hopefully what he needs to finally beat somebody. From blowouts to battles to pitching duels, CC's lost just about every type of game this season. Here's hoping he somehow stumbles into a victory tonight.

This is a key early series here, as the Rays sit three games back of the Yankees in the AL East standings. This is a huge opportunity for the Bombers, who have beaten the Rays five out of six times so far this year, to kick their pesky rivals back down the ladder and towards the division cellar.

For their part, the Rays will send out 26-year old Alex Colome, who is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two starts since returning from an injury, but has only managed to pitch five innings in each of his outings. They are the only other team in the division that is above .500, although that's mostly because they are 6-1 against the Blue Jays (11-14 against everyone else).

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM, with the game being broadcast on YES. You can always listen to John and Suzyn on WFAN, and you spanish speakers can tune in on WADO. As always, feel free to discuss the game in the comments below.

Today's Lineups

NEW YORK YANKEES TAMPA BAY RAYS
Brett Gardner - LF Brandon Guyer - CF
Carlos Beltran - RF Steven Souza - RF
Alex Rodriguez - DH Evan Longoria - 3B
Mark Teixeira - 1B Logan Forsythe - DH
Brian McCann - C Joey Butler - LF
Chase Headley - 3B James Loney - 1B
Chris Young - CF Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
Stephen Drew - 2B Tim Beckham - 2B
Didi Gregorius - SS Rene Rivera - C
CC Sabathia - LHP Alex Colome - RHP