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New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels: Gerrit Cole vs. Patrick Sandoval

The ace is on the hill in tonight’s rubber match

New York Yankees v Oakland Athletics Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

After a relatively smooth 7-4 win last night, the Yankees can take this series on the road with a victory over the Angels in tonight’s rubber match. We get our best pitching matchup of the night, with Gerrit Cole taking on Patrick Sandoval, and of course all eyes are once again on Aaron Judge, looking to homer in his third straight game.

Cole leads baseball in strikeouts, with an even 200 in his 157.2 innings of work this year. We all know what he brings to the table by now. When he’s on, he’s the best pitcher in the American League, and in two starts against the Angels last year, he put up 24 Ks in 12.2 innings, against one walk and two earned runs. However, he does carry a certain amount of blowup risk, that facing a lineup with power like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani can provide have to make you at least a little cautious.

Sandoval doesn’t quite boast the bat-missing ability of Cole, but his 47 percent groundball rate and 0.47 HR/9 home run rate make him a tough opponent for a team built to drive the ball in the air. The Yankees hit three home runs yesterday to pace themselves in the win, but that’ll be much more difficult against the 3.05 ERA, 3.15 FIP Sandoval.

The Angels are rocking their City Connect jerseys tonight, one of my favorite sets of that line.

How to watch

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, CA

First pitch: 9:38 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Bally Sports West

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 / KLAA 830, KWKW 1330

Online stream: MLB.tv

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