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New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays: Jordan Montgomery vs. Yusei Kikuchi

The Yankees send out their dependable lefty up in Dunedin.

Tampa Bay Rays v New York Yankees Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Yankees spring training rolls along, and today, we’ll get our first at look at what might be the team’s primary rival. The Blue Jays have had an interesting offseason, replacing Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien with Kevin Gausman and Matt Chapman, and profile as perhaps the favorites in the AL East. This matchup won’t count for much, but we’ll at least get a glimpse at the talent the Yankees will be dealing with all summer.

In fact, Toronto will run out a pretty representative lineup for this exhibition. Nearly every expected starter will trot out today for the Blue Jays, with Teoscar Hernández the only notable exception. The Yankees aren’t traveling their strongest lineup to Dunedin, with Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres the sole starters making the trip. We will get another chance to see top prospect Oswald Peraza in action, as well as a look at Estevan Florial and Miguel Andújar.

Looking to parlay his strong 2021 into another quality campaign, Jordan Montgomery will make his spring debut. A lot rides on the 29-year-old lefty, as the most reliable starter on the Yankee roster behind Gerrit Cole. He set career bests almost across the board last season, and the Yankees would be thrilled to see an encore performance.

Toronto will counter with a lefty of their own in Yusei Kikuchi. The 30-year-old was the Blue Jays’ primary depth signing on the pitching side, and he’ll be tasked with eating innings at the back of the rotation. He was reliably mediocre for Seattle in 2021, making 29 starts and totaling 157 innings with a 94 ERA+.

How to Watch

Location: TD Ballpark — Dunedin, FL

First pitch: 1:07 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: N/A

Radio broadcast: MLB.com

Online stream: MLB.tv

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