When & Where To Watch
Tonight: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 6:00 p.m. with Yankees Batting Practice Today.
Tomorrow: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 11:30 a.m. with Yankees Batting Practice Today.
Sunday: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 12:30 p.m. with Yankees Batting Practice Today.
Tribute To A Legend
Prior to tomorrow’s game, the Yankees will honor their iconic radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling, who retired Monday afternoon. Having joined the team in 1989, Sterling called more than 5,600 regular season and postseason Yankees games including 5,060 in a row from September 1989 to July 2019. Additionally, Sterling has won 12 Emmy Awards since 2003 for his work hosting YES’ acclaimed Yankeeography series, and in 2016 he was inducted, along with Suzyn Waldman, into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Visit YES’ pages on social media to leave your memories of listening to Sterling through the years.
Pinstriped Pulse
The Yankees pulled off a great comeback on Wednesday, rallying after trailing 4-1 through seven innings to defeat the Blue Jays in Toronto, 6-4. By driving in two runs, Soto reached 500 RBI for his career and became the seventh-fastest player to that mark by age since 1977, getting there at 25 years and 175 days. He also had three hits in the game, boosting his batting average for the season up to .352, third-highest in the American League. Giancarlo Stanton homered as part of the comeback; “Big G” is batting .343 with four homers over his last nine games. Alex Verdugo has a .355 batting average since April 8. Aaron Judge has logged either a hit or a walk in 14 of the Yankees’ 19 games, with his two-run single in the ninth inning Wednesday being the game-winning hit. Clay Holmes is up to 9.0 innings without allowing an earned run this season and has converted seven of eight save chances. His work in the series finale versus the Blue Jays helped the Yanks improve to 13-6, tying their third-best 19-game start since 1990.
How ‘Bout That
In the illustrious history of the Yankees, only six players have reached base at least 43 times through the first 19 team games of a season. Soto got there Wednesday against the Blue Jays, joining a group filled with pinstriped royalty. The others? Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter.
Know The Foe
The 11-9 Rays have alternated losses and wins over their last six games following a stretch in which they won five out of six. Amed Rosario is batting .339, placing him fourth in the AL right behind Soto. Isaac Paredes is batting .273 with five home runs, but some of Tampa Bay’s key hitters are off to slow starts; Yandy Diaz is batting just .225 with one homer, while Randy Arozarena has two homers and a .171 average. In their first season since trading Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers over the winter, Tampa Bay is dealing with significant absences in its starting rotation. Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz and Jeffrey Springs are all out following Tommy John surgery, and Drew Rasmussen is out after having a different operation on his throwing elbow. McClanahan is expected to miss the entire season, but the other three could potentially return later this year.
Probable Pitchers
Clarke Schmidt looks to make it back-to-back wins tonight when opposes Tyler Alexander. Schmidt defeated the Guardians in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, allowing one earned run over five innings and fighting through some control problems. Nestor Cortes is scheduled to start tomorrow opposite Zach Eflin. Luis Gil and Aaron Civale are lined up for Sunday’s finale.