So far this spring all eyes have been on Alex Rodriguez, Masahiro Tanaka, and CC Sabathia for obvious reasons. A-Rod is A-Rod, and the other two are coming off pretty serious injuries. Michael Pineda, this afternoon’s starter, also missed a bunch of time last season due to injury, and he is as important to the 2015 Yankees as any other player on the roster.
Big Mike is making his Grapefruit League debut this afternoon against the Rays, who are making the 90-minute trip up from Port Charlotte. He’s probably only going to throw two innings and 30 pitches or so, but that’s fine. It’s only his first outing. The Rays brought a fairly representative lineup (see it here) and are sending fifth starter candidate Nate Karns to the mound. Karns throws hard, but he had a 5.08 ERA (4.03 FIP) in 145.1 Triple-A innings last year. The young pitching well is starting to dry up in Tampa.
Today’s reason to watch: Big Mike! He was the team’s best pitcher on a rate basis last year. Also, Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to follow Pineda this afternoon. He’ll probably throw three innings. (This doesn’t mean the Yankees are looking at Eovaldi as a reliever. That’s just how the schedule shook out.) We’ll also get our first look at new relievers David Carpenter and Justin Wilson, who will follow Pineda and Eovaldi. Wilson will be making his spring debut.
Here is the starting lineup for this afternoon’s game, which has a very Opening Day feel to it:
- CF Jacoby Ellsbury
- LF Brett Gardner
- RF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Mark Teixeira
- C Brian McCann
- 3B Chase Headley
- DH Alex Rodriguez
- 2B Stephen Drew
- SS Didi Gregorius
RHP Michael Pineda
Available Position Players: C Austin Romine, 1B Greg Bird, 2B Rob Refsnyder, SS Cito Culver, 3B Cole Figueroa, LF Ramon Flores, CF Slade Heathcott, RF Tyler Austin, and DH Jake Cave are the day’s second string. C Francisco Arcia, C Gary Sanchez, C Eddy Rodriguez, UTIL Jose Pirela, UTIL Jonathan Galvez, 1B Kyle Roller, OF Aaron Judge, and OF Mason Williams are also available off the bench.
Available Pitchers: RHP Nathan Eovaldi, RHP David Carpenter, LHP Justin Wilson, RHP Chris Martin, and RHP Diego Moreno are all scheduled to pitch after Pineda. RHP Nick Rumbelow, RHP Danny Burawa, and RHP Nick Goody are the extra arms.
Another nice day for baseball in Tampa, with just a few clouds and temperatures in the mid-80s. Today’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05pm ET and you’ll be able to watch live on YES locally and MLB.tv nationally. There is no MLB.tv blackout in the New York market. MLB Network will show the game on a tape delay later tonight. Enjoy the game, folks.
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