Yankees at Blue Jays
It's a small sample size to be sure, but one major difference between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in the early part of the season has been the effectiveness of their respective bullpens. It certainly proved to be the deciding factor in the series opener for the visiting Yankees, who look to make it two straight wins in Toronto on Wednesday
Despite receiving only five innings from ace Masahiro Tanaka, four New York receivers combined for four scoreless frames, with Dellin Betances and closer Andrew Miller combining to strike out five of the seven batters they faced. Conversely, the Blue Jays' bullpen continues to sputter, giving up a lead entering the sixth inning for the fourth time. Toronto has a run differential of plus-16 through four innings and minus-16 from the fifth through the ninth. Yankees catcher Brian McCann is batting .500 after homering among two hits Tuesday, but he went for X-rays after taking a ball off the toe and will not play Wednesday.
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, YES (New York), Sportsnet1 (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Michael Pineda (1-0, 10.80 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (0-0. 3.00)
Pineda was far from effective in his first start, surrendering a grand slam among three home runs over five innings versus Houston, but the Yankees took him off the hook by amassing 12 runs in the first three innings. The 27-year-old was 1-0 in three starts against the Blue Jays in 2015, including a dominant performance in Toronto in which he tossed eight scoreless innings. Josh Donaldson is hitless in 10 at-bats versus Pineda and Jose Bautista is 3-for-19 with two homers.
Although he did not factor in the decision, Happ was solid over six innings in his season debut at Tampa Bay, permitting two runs on seven hits. The 33-year-old Illinois native, who spent parts of three seasons with Toronto from 2012-14, beat New York with seven innings of three-run ball at Rogers Centre in 2014, but he's 3-2 with a 4.85 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees. Carlos Beltran is 7-for-24 with three home runs and six RBIs against Happ.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury is riding a five-game hitting streak and drove in the go-ahead run in the series opener.
2. Donaldson has hit safely in all eight games.
3. Betances has nine strikeouts in four innings spanning four appearances.