Yankees vs. Blue Jays: Series Preview

Three weeks after Opening Day, the Yankees welcome the Blue Jays to town for another four-game series. The two teams split their first meeting 2-2 after the Yankee bullpen threw away both games late. Oddly enough, the bullpen has continued to struggle since that opening series. Meanwhile, the offense has been hit or miss, and the Yankees have had some awful losses. Hopefully they can get back on track against Toronto tonight.

Game 1: CC Sabathia vs. Aaron Sanchez

CC Sabathia will start tonight’s game nearly two weeks after being placed on the disabled list with hip soreness. Luckily, between the weather and scheduled off days, his DL stint didn’t wreak too much havoc on the rotation. He threw a bullpen session last week and hasn’t felt any pain since. The Orioles took CC deep three times during his injury-shortened start, but he held the Blue Jays to just one earned run a couple of weeks ago. Sabathia will take the mound opposite of Aaron Sanchez, who is coming off of his best start of the season. He limited the Orioles to just three hits over eight innings across the weekend. On the other hand, he has walked 11 batters through the first three starts of the season.

Game 2: Sonny Gray vs. Marco Estrada

It’s fair to say that Sonny Gray has not lived up to Yankees fans’ expectations yet this season. His 6.92 ERA isn’t much to look at, but it’s mostly inflated by last week’s six-run outing against the Red Sox. Gray struck out eight Blue Jays in Toronto, though he only made it through four innings. Here’s hoping for a bounce-back performance this series. Gray will face off against Marco Estrada. The Toronto pitcher has been dealing with back spasms since his last start, though he avoided the disabled list. He has surrendered eight earned runs through 17 innings, along with 14 strikeouts. Tyler Austin hit two home runs off of Estrada a few weeks ago. He should do that again.

Game 3: Jordan Montgomery vs. Marcus Stroman

Care to guess who has pitched worse than Gray in the early goings? Marcus Stroman. He has yet to record a quality start or make it past five innings, and has given up 13 earned runs off of 18 hits. That should bode well for the Yankee offense. Meanwhile, Jordan Montgomery will face the Jays for the first time this season. He is off to a decent start, with a 4.70 ERA and 7.04 K/9.

Game 4: Luis Severino vs. Jaime Garcia

The Yankees ace will wrap up the series on Sunday afternoon. Severino was lit up by the Red Sox last week, but has otherwise gotten off to a great start this season. He limited the Marlins to just one hit earlier in the week, and shut out the Jays on Opening Day. Sevy will be up against our old pal, Jaime Garcia. He has already given up four home runs during his first three starts. Giancarlo Stanton has three career home runs off of Garcia, so here’s hoping that he comes to life during this series.