The weekend is almost upon us and so is the second game in
the contest between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. If the Yankees
are for real this season the team will have to prove that to not only
themselves but to the Rays and the rest of the American League East this
weekend with a strong showing against a strong team and rival. In the start
tonight the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound hoping he has
figured it out after struggling for much of the 2017 season while the Rays will
counter with Austin Pruitt. If the Yankees ever needed a strong outing from the
right arm of Tanaka and an ace-like performance that time is now. Happy Tanaka
Day, I hope it is anyway.
Tanaka, despite what you read on various blogs and on
Twitter, has looked better since his slow start in the month of May. This hasn’t
equated to many wins for the Japanese-born right-hander including losses in his
last two starts against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Boston Red Sox before
taking a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners. In the start against Seattle
the Yankees ace allowed four runs in six innings of work. “It’s not what you
want.”
Pruitt will switch from the Rays bullpen to their starting
rotation to make his starting debut tonight in the Bronx. Pruitt won a spot in
the Rays bullpen out of spring training and has made 18 appearances for Tampa
Bay as a reliever despite spending most of his MiLB career as a starter. What’s
your “welcome to the rotation” present? Aaron Judge. Congrats.
The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium
and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow
along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into WFAN with John Sterling and
Suzyn Waldman. Friday night baseball in the Bronx. Enjoy the game! Go Yankees!!
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)