Sonny Gray To Make First Start Of The Second Half As The Yankees Look To Bounce Back In The Subway Series

It's Sonny Gray's turn to make a start for the  Yankees who look to bounce against their crosstown rival the Mets who are located in Queens in game two of their three -game series to open up the second half of the season. 

The Yankees who are a member of the American League East come into the game with a record of 62-34  and are second in their division while the Mets who are a member of the National League East come into the game with a record of 40-55 and are last in their division. "according to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/

As stated above Sonny Gray will start game two for the team in the Bronx. The right -hander comes into the game against the Mets with a record of 6-7 with a 5.46 earn run average. "according to http://m.mlb.com/player/543243/sonny-gray Gray is coming off six scoreless innings of three-hit ball, striking out eight to defeat the Orioles in Baltimore. Prior to that, Gray had been hammered for 11 runs over 4 1/3 innings in his previous two starts. "according to http://mlb.mlb.com/news/probable_pitchers/index.jsp?c_id=nyy He will oppose Mets left-hander Steven Matz who comes into the game against the Yankees with a record of 4-7 with a 3.38 earn run average. "according to http://m.mlb.com/player/571927/steven-matz One of baseball’s best pitchers since the beginning of May, Matz posted a 2.91 ERA over his final 13 first-half starts. He’ll look to keep rolling at Yankee Stadium, where he allowed six runs in six innings in his only prior career outing. "according to http://mlb.mlb.com/news/probable_pitchers/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

As for the opener between the two New York teams, 

The team located in Queens took the opener over the team in the Bronx.

Inconsistency has followed Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German throughout his rookie season. It continued Friday night in the Yankees' 7-5 loss in the series opener against the Mets at Yankee Stadium, leading to the right-hander's demotion. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

German -- who was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game -- lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks. He has lasted less than five innings in three of his four July starts. German had a 6.18 ERA in 13 starts this season, after making his first big league start on May 6."according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

It's not what you want, right?" German said through an interpreter. "You want to pitch up here, but at the same time I understand why. I got to go down to Triple-A and work on certain things that I need to improve and help me get back on track." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

The Yankees will call up right-hander Luis Cessa when it is time for German's spot in the rotation. Until then, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the team likely will call up another pitcher on Saturday. Cessa pitched for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, tossing six scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out nine, while the Yankees' starter in the Bronx didn't have quite the same outcome. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

German quickly put his team in a three-run deficit, allowing RBI doubles to Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Conforto and Jose Bautista in the first inning. German has had difficulty getting through the first inning all year, posting a 9.00 ERA, allowing 13 runs in 13 appearances in just the first frame this season. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

"I think it's mechanical, so it's really led to him struggling with his fastball command and finding that fastball command," Boone said. "I think at one point tonight he was over 2-to-1 strikes to balls, but you could still tell he was struggling to find that fastball command. If you don't have that, you're going to be in trouble." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

In the third, Yoenis Cespedes took German deep to left, clanking a 3-0 fastball off the foul pole in his first game back from being on the disabled list. Adam Warren took the ball from German to finish out the fourth before allowing two runs in the fifth on singles by Conforto and Devin Mesoraco. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

"Some minor adjustments I need to make in mechanics," German said. "I'm going to go down there, work really hard and try to get back as soon as possible." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

The Yankees put on a late charge in the eighth inning, knocking in two runs on a Didi Gregorius double and a Giancarlo Stanton groundout to cut the Mets lead to 6-5, but were unable to complete the comeback when Gary Sanchez struck out with runners on the corners. Neil Walker plated two with a double in the sixth and Stanton lifted sacrifice fly in the third off Mets starter Noah Syndergaard, who permitted just the one run on eight hits through five frames while fanning four batters, including his 500th career strikeout. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

"Their pitching staff just made pitches when they had to," said Aaron Judge, who had a three-hit night. "We had quite a few hits. I think every guy in the lineup got a hit, but in the big situations, man, Syndergaard and their bullpen were able to come through and get us out in tough spots." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
With the Yankees down one run in the eighth inning, the Mets intentionally walked Aaron Hicks to put runners on the corners and bring Sanchez to the plate. In his first game back from the disabled list, Sanchez had gone 1-for-4 entering the eighth, but he was unable to come up with the big hit, striking out on a 90.7-mph slider from Robert Gsellman. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

"You definitely don't feel good about that," Sanchez said through an interpreter. "I didn't help my team tonight. I got to put that aside and look toward tomorrow and hopefully if I find myself in a situation like that, I'm able to do the job." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

The Yankees left 14 men on base, matching their high for a nine-inning game. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

SOUND SMART
After also dropping the series finale at Citi Field on June 10, the Yankees have lost consecutive games to the Mets for the first time since a six-game losing streak from May 27, 2013, to May 13, 2014. The Yankees are 5-7 against the Mets at Yankee Stadium since the start of 2013. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

HE SAID IT
"He's certainly a guy that's more and more in the conversation, but I think they want him to just kind of get finished off down there and fine-tune some things. He's had a very successful season. I think he's gotten better, and I think he's very close to being an option." -- Boone, on whether the Yankees' No. 2 prospect, Justus Sheffield, was in consideration for German's spot in the rotation "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-stall-after-domingo-german-struggles/c-286575274

First pitch is set for 1:05pm from Yankee Stadium. The game will be televised on Major League Baseball Network and Yes. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/schedule/2018-07