New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Luis Severino vs. Kyle Gibson

It’s the time of the year in which each day carries us further away from the winter doldrums, and each spring training game brings us one step closer to Opening Day. It wasn’t that long ago that Opening Day 2022 seemed like an increasingly vague mirage, but here we are now less than two weeks away from teeing it up in the Bronx against the Red Sox. Although the results of spring training games are rarely important in terms of the big picture, a good Yankees performance today certainly would be a great way to kick off the last weekend in March.

Luis Severino will be making his second start of 2022 spring training for the Yankees today. In his first start this past Sunday against Detroit, the results certainly can’t be sugarcoated, as he allowed four runs and four hits including a home run over two innings against the Tigers. Facing primarily Detroit’s “A” team, Severino – although clearly lacking command – by all accounts had life on his pitches, and said his arm “felt fine” after the game. In the grand scheme of things, that’s a win for the Yankees and Severino, regardless of his pitching line. So much has happened since his standout 2017-18 seasons that it’s easy to overlook his importance to this team – here’s hoping we see another step in the right direction this afternoon.

Yankees batters will be getting their work in against Philadelphia’s Kyle Gibson today. The 34-year-old righty is no stranger to the Yanks, as 219 of his 230 career starts came in the American League as a member of the Twins and Rangers from 2013 through 2021. The Phillies acquired the remarkably durable 2021 All-Star at the trade deadline last season and are looking for him to continue to be a reliable mid-rotation starter for them this year. Like Severino, Gibson will also be making his second start of the spring, as he threw two scoreless innings against Atlanta this past Sunday.

Gibson will be facing a Yankees’ lineup today that’s filled with a good chunk of regulars, as well as a few guys who would like to cement their roles as members of the team that heads north in a week in a half. Along those lines, Tim Locastro gets the start in right field today, and the newly signed super-utility player Marwin González gets the nod in left field.

How to watch:

Location: BayCare Ballpark, Clearwater, Florida.

First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: NBCSP+

Radio broadcast: MLB.com

Online stream: MLB.tv

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