New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Zack Godley

Happy Saturday everyone. Tonight the Yankees look to win their home opener series against the Red Sox. The boys from the Bronx will hope they can build upon their workmanlike showing in last night’s game, in which the power bats, pitching, and defense all shined through. A win would take the Yankees to 6-1, which would be their best start to a season since 2003. On the other side, a loss for the Red Sox would keep them in last place in the division.

The Yankees are surely excited to have Masahiro Tanaka on the mound after his scary injury in summer camp. The veteran righty progressed through the concussion protocol without a hitch after being struck in the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive four weeks ago. Tanaka will wear a hard insert in his cap, and I hope more pitchers will do so proactively moving forward.

Tanaka made a second All-Star appearance last season, and finished the year 11-9 with a 4.45 ERA, 4.27 FIP, and 149 strikeouts in 182.0 innings pitched. He looked sharp in spring training 1.0, and his bullpen sessions working back from the concussion encouraged the Yankees enough to give him the start.

On the bump for the visitors is Zack Godley, who is also making his first start of the season. Godley was acquired by the Red Sox on July 17 after being released by the Tigers four days prior. The Red Sox righty began his career in Arizona, where he put together consecutive sub-4.00 FIP campaigns between 2017-2018, averaging 166.2 innings pitched and 175 strikeouts. He is looking to rebound after his career hit a snag in 2019, when he was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks and then the Blue Jays. Godley is on the right track so far this season, as in his one relief appearance against the Mets, he threw four scoreless innings striking out seven.

Aaron Judge will be looking to homer in four straight games while DJ LeMahieu is trying for a third multi-hit game in his last four. Gary Sanchez is back in the lineup for the Bombers after getting a rest in last night’s game. Mike Tauchman starts in left field, sliding Brett Gardner into center to give Aaron Hicks the night off.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox make some shakeups of their own to the starting lineup. Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, and Tzu-Wei Lin all start while J.D. Martinez, Michael Chavis, and Jose Peraza sit out. Martinez’s benching comes after a 2-for-23 start to the season, which caused the righty slugger to reflect on his swing. “It’s awful,” said Martinez on Friday, “I’m just trying to find it, really.”

How to watch:

Location: Yankee Stadium, New York, NY

First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EDT

TV broadcast: FOX

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM

Online Stream: Fox Sports Go

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