Rays at Yankees
New York Yankees rookie Gleyber Torres isn't shy about flexing his muscles, regardless of where he is penciled into the lineup. After belting a solo homer from the ninth spot on Wednesday, Torres launched a three-run shot from the No. 5 hole the following night to carry momentum into the second contest of a four-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
Torres has hit 13 homers since May 4 after his fifth-inning blast in Thursday's 4-3 win by the Yankees, who improved to 11-3 in their last 14 games. Aaron Hicks also launched a solo shot for New York, which has hit 55 homers at Yankee Stadium this season en route to posting a 24-10 record at home. Tampa Bay's Matt Duffy followed his RBI single in Wednesday's 1-0 walk-off win over Toronto by turning on the first pitch of Thursday's series opener for a homer to hit safely in nine of his last 10 contests. The Rays have posted a lackluster 11-27 mark against winning teams this season as they head into a matchup versus New York's Jonathan Loaisiga, who will be making his major-league debut.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), WPIX (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 3.94 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Jonathan Loaisiga (ML debut)
Eovaldi settled for a no-decision against Seattle last time out after allowing three runs and four hits - including a pair of homers - in five innings. The 28-year-old will make his fourth start this season as he works his way back following a surgery to remove loose bodies in his throwing elbow. Didi Gregorius (2-for-5) and Hicks (2-for-6) have fared well versus Eovaldi, who made 51 appearances over two seasons with the Yankees (2015-16).
Loaisiga is making the jump from Double-A to the majors with Masahiro Tanaka sidelined by two strained hamstrings. "(I was) really just concentrating on doing my job with my (Trenton) team in Double-A. It was a big surprise when they told me," the 23-year-old Nicaraguan told reporters through an interpreter on Thursday. Loaisiga produced a 3-1 record and 4.32 ERA in six starts with Trenton after going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA for Single-A Tampa.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay C Wilson Ramos, who recorded an RBI single on Thursday, has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
2. Yankees RF Aaron Judge notched a pair of hits in the series opener to improve to 5-for-10 with five runs scored in three contests versus the Rays this season.
3. Tampa Bay 1B C.J. Cron is 0-for-11 with 10 strikeouts in his last four games.