Yesterday, the Bombers dropped the opening series to the Orioles, who are arguably expected to be the worst team in the league. The Yankees made a heaps of errors, and largely failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position. Trouble beating Baltimore and leaving runners stranded sounds strangely familiar, right? It’s time to pick themselves up and dust themselves off before they face the Tigers tonight.
Game One: Domingo German vs. Tyson Ross
The Yankees confirmed that Domingo German will make his season debut today, though it’s unclear whether he will start the game. Either Chad Green or Jonathan Holder could be used as the opener. The right-hander struggled during his rookie campaign, particularly with keeping the ball in the park (1.58 HR/9). German faced the Tigers just once last year, and surrendered four runs across 6.2 innings.
After splitting 2018 between the Padres and Cardinals, Tyson Ross is apparently a Tiger now. This will be his season debut, and represents the first time Tyson has faced the Yankees since 2017. That last meeting did not go well, as he lasted just 2.1 innings and was knocked around to the tune of four runs.
Game Two: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Jordan Zimmermann
Masahiro Tanaka looked great on Opening Day, which is not something that has historically been true. He notched five strikeouts, limited Baltimore to just one run through 5.2 innings, and didn’t even give up a homer. Interestingly, Tanaka used his sinker less than normal, and opted to throw his four-seamer quite a bit. That’s an interesting trend to keep an eye on, along with his new knuckle-curve.
Jordan Zimmermann will take the mound for Detroit in game two. The right-hander has not pitched well for years, but he got off to a terrific start last week. He tossed seven scoreless innings against the Blue Jays, and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts, retiring the first 20 batters he faced. It would be nice to see the Yankees offense operating on all cylinders again by Tuesday.
Game Three: James Paxton (?) vs. Matthew Boyd
James Paxton should start this game if the Yankees stay on rotation, though MLB has the pitcher listed as TBD. He had a nice debut on Saturday, matching Tanaka with one earned run through 5.2 innings. Big Maple held the Tigers to five runs through 15 innings in 2018, and recorded 12 strikeouts. More of that, please.
Like Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd has not been very good over the past few years (or ever, really). He was tagged with three runs during his debut against the Blue Jays, but he also struck out 10 batters across five innings. The left-hander is prone to giving up home runs, as evidenced by the dingers he surrendered to Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit at Yankee Stadium last summer. This should be a promising matchup.