For the fourth time in the last six years, the Yankees opened the season on the road. Their season-opening six-game road trip comes to end this afternoon, in the rubber game against the Blue Jays. Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda were both impressive these last two days, but now the rotation turns back over to CC Sabathia. His first start was awful early and great late. Hopefully he continues that roll he was on from innings three through six against the Astros.
I was hoping the Yankees would walk away from this trip with four or even five wins in the bank. It is the Astros and Blue Jays, not for nothing. Instead, they need to win today just to split the six games and go home with minor league signee Yangervis Solarte as arguably their hottest hitter. Grab a win this afternoon, fly home on the heels of a series win, then enjoy the home opener tomorrow afternoon. Maybe even hit a homer. Sounds like a plan. Here is the Blue Jays lineup and here is the Yankees lineup:
- LF Brett Gardner
- SS Derek Jeter
- CF Jacoby Ellsbury
- C Brian McCann
- DH Alfonso Soriano
- 1B Kelly Johnson
- 2B Brian Roberts
- RF Ichiro Suzuki
- 3B Yangervis Solarte
LHP CC Sabathia
It’s sunny and warm in Toronto today, so the Rogers Centre roof might actually be open for the game. Either way, the Yankees will definitely play outdoors tomorrow, when they return to Yankee Stadium for the first time since saying goodbye to Mariano Rivera last season. I can’t wait. Anyway, you can watch this game live on YES and, depending on where you live, MLB Network. Enjoy.