Giancarlo Stanton Returns As New York Faces Tampa Bay
On Tuesday night New York who is first in the American League East is supposed to take on Tampa Bay in game two of their three game series who is in second place in the division and half a game behind them in the Bronx but mother nature might be the deciding factor as to if they get the game in or not.
New York will also get healthier as they welcome back Giancarlo Stanton who has been rehabbing after suffering a shoulder strain. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/a-look-at-the-yankees-injury-timetables
New York comes into the game with a record of 44-27 while Tampa Bay comes into the game with a record of 43-29. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/standings
J.A. Happ will start for New York. The veteran left-hander comes into the game with a record of 6-3 with a 4.66 earn run average. Happ snapped his three-start win streak in the Yankees' 5-4 loss to the White Sox on Thursday. He allowed four earned runs in the fifth inning and couldn't find his control, issuing a season-high four walks in the no-decision. He will oppose Tampa Bay right -hander Ryan Stanek who comes into the game with a record of 0-1 with a 2.45 earn run average. Stanek, who will once again serve as Tampa Bay's opener, has an 0-1 record and a 1.71 ERA in 20 starts this season. The Rays are 13-7 in those games. “according to://www.mlb.com/yankees/roster/probable-pitchers
As for the opening game between New York and Tampa Bay,
Masahiro Tanaka offered a convincing reminder of why the Yankees should be able to trust him in a big-game situation. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Tanaka continued his season-long mastery of the Rays as the top teams in the American League East began their three-game showdown, spinning a two-hit shutout and striking out 10 in the Yankees’ 3-0 victory on Monday evening at Yankee Stadium. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
It makes it even better to be able to go nine innings facing the Rays, who are up there [in the standings] with us," Tanaka said through a translator. "Definitely, it's really nice to get a 'W' tonight.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
The Yanks had the bullpen on alert as early as the seventh inning, but Tanaka continued to cruise in an economical effort, with manager Aaron Boone saying that this was the best that the right-hander’s fastball, slider and splitter had meshed.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Tanaka’s 111th pitch produced a Tommy Pham roller to third baseman DJ LeMahieu, who whipped a throw across the infield into Luke Voit's glove, sealing the Yankees' first two-hitter with 10 or more strikeouts since Mike Mussina did it on Sept. 24, 2002, also against Tampa Bay. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
"For Masa to come out here and kick off this homestand against a really good team over there, it was huge," Boone said. "You need performances like that sprinkled throughout the year to preserve guys. It becomes a big reset day when you can have that kind of performance." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
The victory, the Yanks' third straight, increased their lead over the Rays in the division to 1 1/2 games, just a few hours after general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that he has been contacting rival executives in hopes of stabilizing the rotation. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
"You always worry about the pitching, and we’ll continue to try to reinforce it to the best of our abilities," Cashman said. "Obviously, when we entered the season, our two strengths were our bullpen and our offense, and that’s still the case. It’s our job to reinforce that rotation." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Even with newcomer Edwin Encarnacion taking an 0-for-4 collar, the Yankees have homered in 20 consecutive games. That equals the longest streak in the Majors this season (Mariners) and ranks second in franchise history only to the 1941 World Series-winning squad (25). “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
LeMahieu slugged a two-run homer in the third inning and Cameron Maybin added a solo blast in the fifth to account for the Yanks' production off Rays starter Yonny Chirinos, who took the loss after scattering five hits over six innings. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
"The guy is an awesome player," Voit said of Maybin, who has homered in three straight games but could face a roster crunch with Aaron Judge due back this homestand. "You can tell he’s played in the big leagues a long time. He knows how to control his emotions, and hopefully we’ll find a way to keep him on the roster." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
The dual blasts provided enough cushion, since no Rays reached second base during Tanaka's effort. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
“He got a lot of us swinging at those sliders that came down on our back foot, but all his pitches were really good tonight," said Tampa Bay's Austin Meadows. “The whole game, he didn’t leave anything down the middle, really." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Crediting his aggressiveness in the strike zone, Tanaka has limited the Rays to one run over 22 innings (0.41 ERA) through three efforts this season. He was assisted by some dazzling defense, most notably LeMahieu's diving stop and flip to record an inning-ending fielder's choice in the fifth.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
"Whenever we needed to make a play, all the guys were ready to make plays for him," Voit said. "He's a ground-ball pitcher, so all of our infielders needed to be quick. We had the right shifts on to get effective outs." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Ever the perfectionist, Tanaka said that he may have been lucky on a few pitches, especially early. If that's true, the Yankees will gladly accept that kind of good fortune every fifth day.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
"After the fourth inning, everything clicked," catcher Gary Sanchez said. "We made the necessary adjustments. The splitter was better, the slider was good and he commanded the fastball, commanding and attacking the zone. What else can you ask for from Tanaka tonight? It makes your job easy." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-shuts-out-rays
Meanwhile Tampa Bay was on the other end of the spectrum in the opener as they suffered a setback.
On Monday, the Rays got good pitching from Yonny Chirinos, who completed his sixth quality start of the season after allowing just three runs over six innings. For the most part, they got good defense. But the offense could not get going against Masahiro Tanaka, and Tampa Bay dropped the series opener with New York, 3-0, at Yankee Stadium. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
In three starts against the Rays this season, Tanaka has allowed just one run over 22 innings and has struck out 23. Monday’s gem tops the list.”according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
“For what it’s worth, it seems like he’s tough against us every time, here or in our ballpark,” said manager Kevin Cash. “He’s got our number right now. We’ve got to do a better job of making some adjustments. … Because what he’s doing, and whatever we’re doing, it’s not working.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
Singles by Austin Meadows and Willy Adames were the only offense against Tanaka, as Tampa Bay recorded just two hits, extending the offensive woes. Aside from a nine-run explosion in a 9-4 win on Friday against the Angels, the Rays have struggled to get going over the last week. This is the fifth time in the last seven games they were held to three runs or fewer; all five games were losses. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
“That’s part of the game,” said catcher Mike Zunino. “We’re going to go through these stretches. You just try to have quality at-bats and just try to turn those over. We’re a team that once momentum shifts, we’re going to get going. But it’s a long road trip. It’s just one game. We’re going to get them tomorrow.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
Before this three-game series, outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said the players won’t put any added pressure on themselves, but that they want to show the Yankees, and themselves, that they can play well against the best teams in the league. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
The Rays and Yanks are going to see a lot of each other over the next month -- they play 11 times in the next 28 games -- which should give Tampa Bay a pretty good indication of just how far it is, or isn’t, from holding its own against New York.”according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
Although Monday's loss isn’t the ideal way for the Rays to start the road trip, and it dropped them 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East, they aren’t too concerned about the quiet bats and haven’t seen their confidence waver. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
“It’s just one of those games,” Meadows said. “Obviously, Tanaka was on tonight, but we’re going to come back and we’re going to keep the confidence and we’re going to roll in tomorrow. We have two more games here, and we’re going to continue to have confidence and not let tonight affect us.”
But make no mistake about it: Although the Rays got better pitching and defense on Monday night, they aren't claiming any moral victories. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
“No,” Cash quickly said when asked if the good pitching and defense were a step in the right direction. “We lost.””according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-shut-out-by-yankees
First pitch is set for 7:05 pm from Yankee Stadium. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Sun and Yes.