New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves: Corey Kluber vs. Ian Anderson

The Yankees finally got back in the win column last night. On the back of Jameson Taillon’s best outing as a Yankee and a patient eight innings from the offense, the Bombers eked out the 3-1 victory. It was by no means a vintage performance by the bats, but amid the team-wide offensive scuffle, they’ll take anything they can get. Let’s see if they can carry some positive momentum into tonight’s matchup with the Braves.

Corey Kluber makes his fourth start of the season, and the Yankees are going to need more out of the two-time Cy Young winner than they have received thus far. In 10.1 innings, the veteran righty owns a 6.10 ERA, 7.13 FIP, and 12 strikeouts. For a pitcher whose calling card at his peak was his pinpoint command of both sides of the plate, Kluber’s early control issues are particularly concerning. He is walking an uncharacteristic number of batters, which cannot be explained citing his tendency as a “slow starter” — something Josh will analyze more thoroughly at the end of the week.

Aaron Boone tinkered with the Yankees’ lineup last night against the right-handed Charlie Morton, bringing in lefties Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, and Mike Ford. They combined to go 0-for-8 with three strikeouts, although Ford did draw a bases-loaded walk to put the Yankees up 3-1 in the eighth. Tonight, they roll out a more conventional starting nine to face Anderson. Aaron Hicks returns to the lineup, despite hints that Boone might sit him for a second straight game to “focus on making improvements to his game.” Clint Frazier also comes in to face the southpaw, while Mike Ford retains his spot at first base. Gardner and Tauchman went back to the bench.

On the mound for the visitors is Jethro Tull frontman the left-handed starter Ian Anderson. The young southpaw has returned mixed results for the Braves in the early going, with a 4.70 ERA, 4.50 FIP, and 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. On one hand, he is fanning over 11 batters per nine, but on the other, he has allowed a home run on almost half the fly balls hit against him. He actually made his major league debut against the Yankees last season, surrendering only one hit (a Luke Voit home run) over six innings while striking out a half-dozen. The Bombers will hope he is “feeling like a dead duck” today, and that he “starts away uneasy” against their still-vulnerable lineup.

The Braves send out and identical lineup to last night. All-World superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. is absent again as he recovers from an abdominal strain, but there is still plenty of pop in the Atlanta batting order between reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman and 2020 NL home run king Marcell Ozuna.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium - The Bronx, New York, NY

First pitch: 6:35 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: ESPN, YES Network, Bally Sports South, MLB Network (out-of-market)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv, Fubo

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