Yankees at Rays
A lot of things must go right for the New York Yankees to be a contender for the American League East title, but they will always be difficult to beat when Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound. Tanaka attempts to remain unbeaten against the Tampa Bay Rays in his career when the Yankees visit their AL East rival for the season opener Sunday afternoon.
Tanaka boasts a 3.12 ERA in his career and was 4-0 last season to improve to 6-0 overall versus the Rays, who counter with right-hander Chris Archer - 0-3 in 2016 against New York despite holding hitters to a .190 batting average. The Yankees added veteran sluggers Matt Holliday and Chris Carter while they will depend on young hitters such as first baseman Greg Bird, outfielder Aaron Judge and catcher Gary Sanchez. Tampa Bay finished tied for the second-fewest wins in the majors last season (68) and hopes to lean on a strong starting staff to get off to a good start. Third baseman Evan Longoria is coming off one of the best years of his career (36 homers, 98 RBIs) and Brad Miller moves to second in place of traded Logan Forsythe after belting a career-high 30 home runs for the Rays.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, YES (New York), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (2016: 14-4, 3.07 ERA) vs. Rays RH Chris Archer (2016: 9-19, 4.02)
Tanaka goes for his 40th major league victory as he begins his fourth season with the Yankees after making a career-high 31 starts in 2016. The 28-year-old from Japan struck out 165, primarily with his dynamic splitter, and walked just 36 in 199 2/3 innings last season despite being diagnosed with a small tear in his right elbow in 2014 before deciding against surgery. Miller has gone deep three times against Tanaka while Kevin Kiermaier is 5-for-11 with a homer against him.
Archer had a strong spring after an improved second half last season and hopes to regain his 2015 form that led to an appearance in the All-Star game. The 28-year-old North Carolina native, who has pitched at least 200 innings and struck out 200 in back-to-back seasons, had a 3.25 ERA after the All-Star break in 2016 after struggling to a 4.66 mark in the first half. Jacoby Ellsbury is 19-for-34 with two homers against Archer, who is 5-5 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 career games versus the Yankees.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay will start the season without SS Matt Duffy (heel), C Wilson Ramos (knee), RHP Brad Boxberger (upper-body) and OF Colby Rasmus (hip).
2. Sanchez went 9-for-31 with six homers, seven walks and 13 RBIs against the Rays last season.
3. The Yankees won 11 of the 19 meetings last season, but Tampa Bay was 5-4 at home in the series.