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New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers: Gerrit Cole vs. Tyler Alexander

The ace gets his final tuneup start before Opening Day.

New York Yankees Gerrit Cole throws in the bullpen during spring training in Tampa Photo by J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images

In less than a week, we’ll have real baseball with real stakes. Gerrit Cole will be the Yankees’ Opening Day starter on April 7th, but today, he’ll get his last chance to work all the kinks out before facing the Red Sox for real.

In Cole’s last start on Sunday, his fastball popped well with good velo and spin, but his overall struggle with command led to him leaving a few balls out over the middle of the plate. Command is something that takes time to return, so it’ll be a key for his start today ahead of actual baseball being played. Of course, the game isn’t televised, so we won’t actually get to see if his command has improved.

Lineup-wise, there will be quite a few of the Opening Day starters in today’s game, with the Yankees once again signaling that Aaron Hicks may not be playing center field quite as much as most initially expected — he’s the DH today with Joey Gallo in center.

How to watch:

Location: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium (Lakeland, Florida)

First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: Radio only

Radio broadcast: WFAN

Online stream: MLB.tv

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