New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Series preview

Fresh off a sweep of the Mariners, the Yankees will start a three-game set against the Rays tonight at Tropicana Field. New York took three out of four games when these two teams faced last weekend, and hopefully we’ll be in for more of the same during this series. Here’s a look at the probable pitching matchups.

Game One: CC Sabathia vs. Ryne Stanek

CC Sabathia will take the mound for the first game of this series. During his last outing (which was also against the Rays), he surrendered three runs, walked one batter, and recorded ten strikeouts. The big lefty hadn’t struck out more than nine batters in one game since August of 2016. The Rays will hand the ball to reliever Ryne Stanek. He typically only faces four or five batters before the Rays turn to another reliever. Last week, it was Ryan Yarbrough who followed Stanek, and he coughed up four runs.

Game Two: Sonny Gray vs. Wilmer Font

Is Sonny Gray good again? It is hard to say. He has pitched better lately, but he tends to follow every successful outing with a clunker. Gray owns a 2.63 ERA in June, and held the Nationals to just two runs during his last start. This will be his first time facing the Rays this season. He will square off against Wilmer Font (7.83 ERA), who already pitched for three different teams this season. Font has been much better since joining the Rays, and has been getting deeper and deeper into games. He limited the Yankees to just one run over four and two-thirds innings last week. His ERA may be ugly, but he has only surrendered four runs since joining the Rays several weeks ago.

Game Three: Domingo German vs. Blake Snell

Speaking of players who have been pitching better, Domingo German’s last start was his most successful since his no-hit debut in early May. Through seven innings, German limited the Mariners to just two hits, didn’t issue any walks, and notched nine strikeouts. Blake Snell is having a great season overall, but the Yankees have had his number so far. Although he has only faced them twice this year, Snell has already given up four home runs and nine earned runs to the Yankees. During his last outing, he walked seven Astros over the course of seven innings, yet managed to limit the damage to just one run.