Rays at Yankees
The New York Yankees are shaking off the funk that followed them into the All-Star break and are getting back to the business of competing for the top spot in the American League East. The front office is clearly behind the team on the field and the players are poised to make another statement of their own when they host the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a four-game series on Thursday.
New York enters the series one game behind first-place Boston and is already getting contributions from newcomers like Todd Frazier, who hit his first home run since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, and rookie Clint Frazier, who is settling into the No. 2 spot in the batting order and enjoys hitting behind veteran leadoff man Brett Gardner. "They're doing everything they can to get on base," Clint Frazier told reporters after driving in a pair of runs in Wednesday's 9-5 win over Cincinnati. "They're running balls out and giving me good opportunities to try to push runs across the board. It's fun to play with a guy like (Gardner), who's hustling all the time. And I've just kind of followed his lead." The Yankees' recent surge has pushed them in front of the Rays, who dropped five straight before salvaging the homestand by taking the last two from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tampa Bay, which sits 2 1/2 games behind Boston, will send Chris Archer to the mound to begin the series on Thursday while the Yankees counter with veteran lefty CC Sabathia.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Chris Archer (7-6, 3.77 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (9-3, 3.44)
Archer struck out 11 against Texas on Saturday but hurt himself with a pair of wild pitches and ended up with the loss despite allowing four runs - one earned - and four hits in seven innings. The North Carolina native surrendered three or fewer earned runs in each of his last five outings and is second in the AL with 167 strikeouts. Archer is making his third start of the season against New York and went 1-1 in the first two while yielding a total of five runs in 13 1/3 innings.
Sabathia is on a roll with wins in each of his last two starts and allowed a total of one run in 11 innings over that span. The California native surrendered two or fewer runs in eight of his last nine outings and is 7-1 over that stretch. Sabathia is seeing Tampa Bay for the third time this season and failed to complete six innings in either of his first two chances, though he only allowed two runs - one earned - and seven hits in 10 frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier (hip) and 2B Daniel Robertson (neck) will begin minor league rehab assignments on Thursday while RHP Jake Odorizzi (back) was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday.
2. Yankees SS Didi Gregorius homered in each of the last three games, bringing his season total to 16.
3. New York rookie RF Aaron Judge sat out Wednesday but is expected to be back in the lineup for Thursday's opener.