New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Matt Strahm vs. Domingo Germán

So far, so good for the Yankees during this early-season homestand. After taking two of three from San Francisco, New York clobbered the Phillies last night to get this series off to a good start. They look to guarantee another series win tonight with a second victory over the Phils, before wrapping up tomorrow and embarking on their first road trip of the young campaign.

Domingo Germán makes his 2023 debut tonight, taking the ball for the Yankees. Originally slated for a fifth starter battle with Clarke Schmidt, the plethora of injuries to the starting rotation before the season ever started has Germán firmly ensconced in the rotation, at least for the time being.

Germán comes off a 2022 season when he didn’t miss many bats but limited the free passes, featuring a fastball with a spin rate in baseball’s 97^th percentile. He complemented that with a curveball that he threw almost as often as the heater, and a changeup he tossed approximately one-quarter of the time. The curve and the change were his most effective offerings in 2022, with opposing hitters managing wOBAs of .284 and .242 against them, respectively.

For Philly, 31-year-old southpaw Matt Strahm is the first man up in what looks like a bullpen game as he tries to staunch the bleeding after the Phils dropped each of their first four contests of the season. Strahm features the traditional four-pitch mix, tossing curves, changeups, and sliders alongside his low-to-mid-90s fastball. Tonight marks his second appearance in 2023, after tossing a scoreless inning against Texas in the season-opening series. This is his first season in Philly after six with the Royals and Padres from 2016-21 and 50 games in relief for the Red Sox last year.

The Yankee lineup is without a familiar face, as Anthony Rizzo won today’s game of “who gets a day off.” DJ LeMahieu takes his spot at first base. Elsewhere, Isiah Kiner-Falefa gets another start in center field, Aaron Hicks gets his second straight start in left, Aaron Judge gets the half-day at DH, and Anthony Volpe makes his fifth consecutive start at shortstop and bats ninth. Josh Donaldson has had the most success against Strahm, albeit in limited action. Donaldson has a solo home run against the lefty, in three career at-bats. Tomorrow’s a day game, so Kyle Higashioka will catch tonight with Jose Trevino handling the matinee.

Let’s keep the good times rolling. Win tonight, guarantee the series, and line up the possibility of a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: NYY - Amazon Prime Video, PHI - NBCSP+, National - TBS

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280 / 94 WIP, WTTM 1680

Online stream: MLB.tv

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