New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox: Yoendrys Gómez vs. Tanner Houck

For the second time in the past few days, New York faces off with Boston, this time with the latter club hosting the matchup (with part of their team on the road against Baltimore). The good guys are coming off a Saturday that saw both halves of split-squad games take the L. It’s spring training and getting too wound around the maypole over wins and losses is foolish, but it’s generally better to win than to lose, even in meaningless exhibitions. Plus, it’s Boston.

Yoendrys Gómez takes the ball for the Yankees today. This marks his third appearance of the spring, and he has looked impressive to this point. Over five innings, he has only surrendered one run, and only two baserunners have managed to reach base against him. MLB ranks him as the Yankees’ 12^th-best prospect. He features a four-pitch mix, and MLB designates his slider as his best pitch, assigning the offering a 60-grade. Gómez is already out of big league camp, but the road game gives him a chance to pop back in.

For Boston, right-hander Tanner Houck gets the ball. The 26-year-old is entering his fourth big league season, all with the Red Sox. So far this spring, he has thrown 4.2 innings over two appearances, allowing two runs. Houck relies heavily on his fastball, throwing it over half the time in 2022. He mixes in a slider, and the occasional changeup.

The Yankees are not sending their heavy hitters out to face Houck today, with a lot of prominent names absent from the lineup, not to mention Anthony Rizzo scratched with back soreness. Among 2023’s presumptive regulars, left fielder Aaron Hicks, second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, and third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa are the most prominent names making the trip today. The lineup also features No. 1 prospect Anthony Volpe leading off and playing shortstop, and Andres Chaparro and his three spring training dingers at designated hitter. Non-roster invitee Rafael Ortega will get a shot in center field today to make his case for Harrison Bader’s absent roster spot on Opening Day.

A win would be nice, but honestly, let’s just keep getting through these games with no harm, no foul.

How to watch

Location: JetBlue Park — Ft. Myers, FL

First pitch: 1:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: NESN+

Radio broadcast: WEEI 93.7

Online stream: MLB.tv

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