New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers: Jordan Montgomery vs. Dane Dunning

It was closer than it needed to be, but the Yankees pulled off a much-needed win last night in the series opener against the Rangers. With the Blue Jays also losing to the Rays, the Bombers now sit a half-game out of the second AL Wild Card spot. Can they keep the pressure on with another win tonight?

Jordan Montgomery has been largely excellent for the Yankees in his first full season since his 2017 rookie campaign. In fact, you could make the argument that he is one of the better starting pitchers in baseball, as he sits in the top-10 of AL starters in ERA, FIP, and fWAR. He is coming off a career-high in strikeouts, fanning 12 Orioles during his last time out. In 27 starts, Montgomery, is 5-6 with a 3.63 ERA, 3.56 FIP, and 149 strikeouts in 144 innings.

Dane Dunning was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Lance Lynn to the White Sox last winter. He throws a sinker in the low-90s along with a slider and changeup, and will occasionally mix in a cutter and curveball. He faced the Yankees once this year — the game after Corey Kluber’s no-hitter — and dominated, tossing six scoreless innings with four hits and six strikeouts. On the season, Dunning is 5-8 with a 4.28 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 103 strikeouts in 107.1 innings.

The Yankees roll out a nearly identical lineup to yesterday, the only change being Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton swapping right field/DH duties. Brett Gardner inexplicably continues to get game time — despite going 0-for-10 in his last three games — all at the expense of Luke Voit sitting on the bench.

Meanwhile, the Rangers make a handful of changes to their lineup from last night. Willie Calhoun, Yonny Hernández, and Jose Trevino get starts with DJ Peters, Nate Lowe, and Jonah Heim all making way.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, New York

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: YES, Bally Sports Southwest, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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