New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays: James Paxton vs. Charlie Morton

The Yankees will turn to struggling starter James Paxton as they look to split a four-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. Paxton has been nothing short of disastrous in the early going of 2020, pitching just four innings total over his first two outings and carrying a 13.50 ERA into Sunday’s contest. His average fastball velocity thus far is 91.9 mph, nearly four ticks off his 2019 mark, per FanGraphs. He’s insisted his problems are mechanical, not health-related, so the Yankees will be hoping to see him take a much-needed step forward.

Charlie Morton starts for the Rays and he’s off to a slow start as well, pitching to a 5.52 ERA in three outings, totaling 14.2 innings. He was a rotation stalwart for Tampa Bay last year, sporting a 3.05 ERA across 33 starts and 194.2 innings.

The division rivals traded wins in Saturday’s doubleheader, with tensions running high in the nightcap after a number of brushbacks from Tampa pitchers had the Yankees bench howling, ultimately resulting in the ejections of manager Aaron Boone and hitting coach Marcus Thames. We’ll see if the increasingly apparent bad blood between the clubs produces any more theatrics.

In injury news, Giancarlo Stanton heads to the IL with a left hamstring strain. The Yankees recalled Thairo Estrada from the alternate site in Scranton.

Here’s the lineup the Yanks will role out:

And here’s the lineup for the Rays:

How to watch:

Game time: 1:10 p.m. ET

Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

TV broadcast: YES

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM

Online Stream: MLB.tv

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