Yankees at Rays
The New York Yankees moved in front of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East this week by pulling off a dramatic three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners and are showing no sign that they have any interest in slipping back to the pack. The Yankees will try to record their 18th win in 22 contests and fifth straight when they kick off a six-game road trip by visiting the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
New York recovered from a 5-0 deficit to walk off with a 7-5 win on Wednesday and smashed a pair of first-inning homers to spark a 4-3 win in Thursday's finale, bringing the club to 50 wins. "We've obviously played well and racked up a lot of wins, but you also realize every night how precious those wins are and how hard they are to come by, I don't care who we're playing," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters. "But when you look at it, it is, I think, gratifying to know that we've played pretty well against some of the elite teams and some of the hot teams. I think it just speaks to what we believe our team is capable of, and the confidence these guys have no matter who the opponent is." The Rays are not playing quite as well against teams at the top of the standings and are 2-5 while playing New York and Houston over the last seven games. Tampa Bay will try to grab the upper hand on Friday behind right-hander Ryne Stanek while the Yankees send lefty CC Sabathia to the mound.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH CC Sabathia (4-2, 3.30 ERA) vs Rays RH Ryne Stanek (1-1, 2.21)
Sabathia absorbed a loss at home against Tampa Bay on Sunday, when he was charged with three runs on 10 hits over 7 2/3 innings. The 37-year-old, who struck out a season-high 10 in the loss on Sunday, allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last four outings. Sabathia made two starts at Tropicana Field last season and won both while yielding a total of one earned run and seven hits across 10 innings.
The Rays continue to go the unconventional route by using a reliever in a starting role, and Stanek made that plan look smart the last time he made a start. The 26-year-old needed just 11 pitches to record five outs before handing it over to Jonny Venters in a game Tampa Bay eventually lost to the Astros on Monday. Stanek worked a scoreless inning in relief the next night against Houston, giving him eight consecutive scoreless appearances.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees OF Brett Gardner (right knee) could return to the lineup on Friday and avoid a trip to the disabled list.
2. Tampa Bay CF Kevin Kiermaier (thumb) is 0-for-9 in two games since returning from a two-month absence.
3. New York RF Aaron Judge hit his 19th home run on Thursday, snapping a 10-game homer drought.