New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians: Gerrit Cole vs. Tanner Bibee

Yesterday could not have gone worse for the Yankees. First, the team announced that Jonathan Loáisiga needed surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow. Then, Aaron Judge finally hit the injured list with the hip strain that has kept him out since late last week. And to top it all off, Aaron Boone and Clay Holmes wasted an impeccable start by Domingo Germán, blowing a 2-0 lead in the top of the ninth inning for the team’s fourth consecutive loss.

Fortunately, this is baseball, which means there’s no time to wallow in these disasters, as there’s another game today. Unfortunately, this is baseball, which means we’re subjected to another Yankees game that will almost certainly bring pain and misery to fans. Pick whichever sentence fits your own personal viewing experience, and remember, if things go sour, you can always flip over to TNT at 7:30 and watch the Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and the New York Knicks take on the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

If you’re so bold as to keep the channel glued to the YES Network, then at least Gerrit Cole will get the ball for the Yankees tonight. The ace has looked as good as he ever has in his career, leading the Yankees to victory in his first six starts (and earning the win in five of them) while posting a 1.11 ERA, 2.11 FIP, and 0.836 WHIP. To illustrate just how effective he has been so far, in his last outing, he allowed just two runs in 6.2 and saw his ERA rise by almost a full third of a run. With the way the offense has been performing of late they’ll need him to continue to do, well, that.

Opposing him will be Tanner Bibee, a 24-year-old rookie making his second career start. He showed everyone why he’s a Top 100 prospect in his first outing, allowing just one run on six hits in 5.2 against the Colorado Rockies while striking out eight and not walking a single batter. Considering both how the Yankees lineup has been hitting and how well the Yankees seem to do against rookie pitchers they haven’t seen before (which is to say, not well at all), this has all the makings for a banner day for the Bronx Bombers Groundout-ers.

The Yankees lineup marks the return of center fielder Harrison Bader; the fact that he’s batting fifth tonight is a grim reminder of how bad the offense has been recently, as he boasts a career 97 OPS+ and primarily hit in the bottom third of the lineup in his limited action last season. Besides him, Boone tries out a new arrangement at the top of the order in an effort to get the lineup going, sandwiching Gleyber Torres into the two hole between the two Anthonys (Volpe and Rizzo).

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES Network (NYY) / Bally Sports Great Lakes (CLE)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280 (NYY) / WMMS 100.7, WTAM 1100, Guardians Radio Network (CLE)

Online stream: MLB.tv, YES Network App

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