CC Sabathia Is Going For Win 250 In The Finale As New York Aims To Sweep Tampa Bay In The Bronx

On Wednesday afternoon CC Sabathia who is playing his last season in the Major Leagues will once again try to get career win 250 but mother nature might be the deciding factor as to if the two teams who are first and second in the American League East get the finale in or not in the Bronx.

New York comes into the game with a record of 45-27 and is leading the division while Tampa Bay comes into the game with a record of 43-30 and is 2.5 games back and is in second place in the division. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/standings

In this game New York will look to sweep Tampa Bay while Tampa Bay meanwhile will look to salvage a game out of the three game series.

As stated above, CC Sabathia will start the finale for New York. The veteran left-hander who as stated above is playing his last season in the Major Leagues comes into the finale with a record of 3-4 with a 4.42 earn run average. Sabathia will take his fourth crack at notching his 250th career victory when he faces the Rays. The Yankees' southpaw was roughed up by the White Sox on Friday, allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings as his road woes continued. He will oppose Tampa Bay left--hander Blake Snell who comes into the game with a record of 4-5 with a 3.70 earn run average. Snell will be making his third start of the season against the Yankees. In his previous two starts vs. New York, the left-hander is 0-1 with a 2.31 ERA and has recorded 21 strikeouts in just 11 2/3 innings. “according https://www.mlb.com/yankees/roster/probable-pitchers

As for New York and Tampa Bay’s previous game,

New York got a little bit healthier and won the game.

Cameron Maybin's consistent refrain has been that he will not waste energy worrying about things that are out of his control, such as the security of his roster spot. The veteran outfielder prefers to let his performance speak for itself, and with each big swing, the Yankees’ looming decision seems to grow more difficult. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

"I’m thankful that I’m here,” Maybin said. “I’m enjoying every moment of it, and I just want to continue to be a piece of the puzzle and continue to play good baseball." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

The Yankees remain tight-lipped on how they will solve their upcoming roster crunch, though when general manager Brian Cashman outlined the outfield on Monday in the wake of Encarnacion’s acquisition, he did not mention Maybin’s name. Instead, Cashman’s envisioned outfield consisted of Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Judge, with Brett Gardner as the extra player off the bench. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

We’ll see where we are as we kind of work our way through this,” Boone said. “Obviously those decisions are getting [close]. We don’t have to make any tonight or tomorrow, so we’ll just keep working through it, keep talking through and try and do what’s best for everyone.””according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

Maybin is the first Yankee to homer in four straight games since Gleyber Torres last May, and the first Yanks outfielder to do so since Danny Tartabull in 1992. Crediting Yankees hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pilittere for helping him drive the ball in the air more frequently, Maybin said that he has been able to block out the noise. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

"Once you step on the field, you get to do what you love, and that's playing baseball,” Maybin said. “As long as I'm here, as long as I get an opportunity to step on the field with a group of guys who I feel are my brothers, I'm going to continue to go out and play hard each and every day and leave it all out there." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

The Yankees’ franchise record for consecutive games with a home run is 25, set by the 1941 club. The Major League record is 27, established by the 2002 Rangers. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

Maybin’s seventh-inning blast came off Oliver Drake after New York grabbed the lead with three runs in the fifth, stringing four straight hits off Chaz Roe. DJ LeMahieu, Luke Voit and Gary Sánchez stroked run-scoring hits in that frame, boosting starter J.A. Happ into position to improve to 6-0 in his last eight starts.”according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

“It’s a tough team to score runs against. You have to do a lot of things well,” Boone said. “The handful of mistakes you get, hopefully some of our guys will take advantage with the long ball. But when we can create traffic, some big hits go a long way.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

Happ had to grind in order to hold Tampa Bay to two runs over five innings, with Mike Zunino and Avisail Garcia collecting run-scoring hits. After Adam Ottavino hurled a scoreless sixth, Tommy Kahnle permitted a seventh-inning run but pitched out of trouble by recording two strikeouts and inducing a soft groundout. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

“I was just trying to focus out there,” Happ said. “I know I had a good changeup in the first inning, and the second inning, I wasn't quite letting it go the same. I got myself into a little bit of a jam there. I was able to work out of it for the most part, just trying to execute with Gary back there. He did a nice job, and the bullpen came in and did their thing, too.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

Encarnacion’s eighth-inning shot came off Andrew Kittredge, marking the slugger’s American League-leading 22nd homer. Boone cracked that it was nice to see Encarnacion’s “parrot” home run trot on the Yankees’ side for a change, and the home dugout delighted in mimicking the slugger’s trademark as he rounded the bases. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

“It feels great. It feels better when you win,” Encarnacion said. “It’s all about having fun. That’s what we need. Have fun and play the game right.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cameron-maybin-edwin-encarnacion-homer-vs-rays

With the win New York who is leading the American League East improves to 45-27 on the regular season.

Meanwhile Tampa Bay was on the other end of the spectrum as they dropped their second straight in the series

The Rays have talked about the importance of having Chaz Roe return to his 2018 form, but the right-hander’s struggles continued on Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

After Ryne Stanek allowed one run in his 1 1/3 innings to open the game, the Rays’ offense quickly responded with a run in the second inning on a Mike Zunino RBI single, then a second run in the third on an Avisail Garcia RBI single for a 2-1 lead.”according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

With the Rays ahead, Ryan Yarbrough was able to limit the Yankees to just one hit over his three innings, retiring nine of the 10 hitters he faced. He needed just 42 pitches to get through his outing. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

Yarbrough said that he wasn’t necessarily surprised when manager Kevin Cash took him out of the game because he saw Roe warming up in the bullpen. Yarbrough added that he understood why Cash made the move when he did.”according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

“It’s not really my call on that, obviously,” Yarbrough said. “Once I got Didi [Gregorius] out and saw that he came out, I kind of understood the thought process. It’s not the first time that this happens, and it’s not going to be the last time, especially during the opener. You’ve kind of seen it with how I did last year, and sometimes you see it with guys this year. It’s just all part of it.””according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

The thought process was for Cash to turn to the bullpen in order to preserve the one-run lead against a powerful Yankees lineup. New York had eight right-handed hitters in the lineup, which is why Cash turned to Roe with one out in the fifth inning. The move, however, didn’t pan out, a theme for Roe so far this season.

“I know it’s a difficult decision,” Cash said. “It’s a fair question, just basically where Yarbs had gotten us one time through the lineup. They’re heavy right-handed; I thought it was a good spot for Chaz to come in. Obviously, I know that it didn’t work out the way we would have liked.””according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

The Yankees proceeded to connect on four straight singles before Roe was able to record an out, making it a 4-2 game. However, the Yankees didn’t get a lot of particularly hard contact off Roe, as three of the five knocks were hit with an exit velocity of 82 mph or lower.”according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

“I felt good,” Roe said. “I threw some pitches that were out of the zone, and they were just able to get enough wood on it for it to fall in. Things just didn’t go my way tonight.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

Once Roe began to struggle in the fifth, the Rays had right-hander Oliver Drake warming up in the bullpen, just in case Roe was unable to finish out the inning. But Cash said that he wanted to get Roe through the frame. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

“It was Roe’s inning,” Cash said. “Had we kept it [to] one [run] or tied before [Aaron] Hicks or someone would come up, we had Drake ready to go. But he was throwing strikes, and it was just one of those things. They had good at-bats.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

The three runs allowed by Roe pushed his ERA to 5.14, which is the highest by any qualifying member of the Tampa Bay bullpen this season. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

Roe was one of the most impactful relievers in the Rays’ bullpen last season, but the right-hander hasn’t been able to find a consistent rhythm and has struggled with his command, especially on his signature slider. Last season, Roe had a whiff percentage of 34.9 on his slider, but that’s down to 25 percent this season. On Tuesday, of Roe’s 28 pitches, 21 of them were sliders. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

“He threw a ton of sliders today, and what we’ve seen in the past is strike-to-ball slider,” Cash said. “He might have left a couple sliders in the zone, but it’s such a good pitch that when they reel off four or five hits in a row, you kind of scratch your head a little bit because we know how effective that pitch has been for him and for us.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

In six appearances in June, Roe has given up eight runs in only 4 2/3 innings for a 15.43 ERA this month. With Tuesday’s loss, Tampa Bay has now lost 14 of its last 15 series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium and dropped to 12-33 in its last 45 games in the Bronx. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

“I think you can salvage a series here by winning one game,” Zunino said, looking ahead to Wednesday afternoon, when the Rays will start ace Blake Snell against CC Sabathia. “We’ve played some really close games with them. We’re just a hit here and there short. I think we’ll continue to come out tomorrow and hopefully have some quality at-bats. We’ve got Blake on the mound tomorrow, so we feel really good. “according to https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/chaz-roe-struggles-for-rays-vs-yankees

First pitch is set for 1:05pm from Yankee Stadium. The game will be televised on Yes , Fox Sports Sun and Major League Baseball Network.