New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Aaron Civale

The Yankees are back in action tonight after definitely not playing a game against Cleveland last night. Normally, this is an appropriate space to talk about the previous game, but since the Yankees absolutely did not get blown out by nearly 15 runs last night, we don’t need to talk about anything like that. We can thankfully just focus on tonight.

The Yankees will have Masahiro Tanaka on the mound, and there probably isn’t a better pitcher the team could run out tonight. In his last start, Tanaka was stellar. He went eight innings and struck out four without giving up a walk or a run against the Blue Jays. It was the second time this year Tanaka went at least eight innings. It’s been an up-and-down year for the 30-year-old, but when the Yankees desperately need a win, Tanaka always seems to come through. Hopefully, tonight will be no different.

Opposite Tanaka is rookie starter Aaron Civale. Cleveland drafted the 24-year-old back in 2016, and tonight will be his fourth big league start. Civale won’t blow it by anyone. He’s more of a crafty command-type pitcher. He predominantly uses his sinker and cutter to generate outs, but he also throws a slider, curveball, changeup, and four-seamer. In 18 innings this year, he’s given up just two runs while striking out 18 and walking four.

The Yankees are pretty much running their A-lineup, or the closest thing to it, out there tonight. Right-handed hitting Cameron Maybin will face the righty Civale tonight rather than the lefty Tauchman, but there aren’t any real surprises in the lineup other than that. In addition to Tauchman, Thairo Estrada and Austin Romine round out the three-man bench.

Yankee fans can watch tonight’s game on the YES Network or stream it with FuboTV or MLB.tv. As always, the game will be broadcast on the radio on WFAN. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM EST.