Yankees at Tigers
The return of a familiar face and a new addition have provided plenty of thump to the lineup for the New York Yankees, who venture onto the road for a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers starting Friday afternoon. Mark Teixeira and Starlin Castro are off to torrid starts for New York, which scored 27 runs in taking two of three from the Houston Astros.
Teixeira belted 31 homers in 111 games in 2015 before a broken bone in his leg ended his season, but he is showing no rust with a pair of three-run blasts in back-to-back games, including a tiebreaking shot in Thursday's 8-5 win. “When we don’t have him, we miss him,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters of Teixeira. “We’re glad to have him back.” New York is also thrilled with the acquisition of Castro, who went 7-for-12 with two homers, two doubles and eight RBIs against Houston. The Tigers swept a two-game set at the Miami Marlins and will send Jordan Zimmermann, a pricey free-agent signing, to the mound in the home opener.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), FSN Detroit
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (2015: 5-3, 2.89 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Jordan Zimmermann (2015: 13-10, 3.66)
Severino did not receive a promotion to the majors until early August in 2015 but quickly showed he was not overmatched at the major-league level, permitting three earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts. The 22-year-old Dominican did have some control issues at times, walking at least three batters in five straight turns, but he only allowed more than six hits in two outings. He was 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six road starts.
The Tigers signed Zimmermann to a five-year deal worth a reported $110 million after he won 58 games over the previous for years with the Washington Nationals, including a 19-9 campaign in 2013. Zimmermann struggled with the long ball last season, allowing a career-high 24 homers, but he walked only 39 batters in 201 2/3 innings. Zimmermann has limited Castro to five hits and zero homers in 25 at-bats.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury is a career .314 hitter versus Detroit.
2. Tigers 2B Ian Kinsler went 5-for-11 with three runs scored, a homer and four RBIs in Miami.
3. New York won the season series 5-2 in 2015 while outscoring Detroit 46-26.