The Yankees (56-29, 7.5 GA in AL East) face the Tampa Bay Rays (50-38, 7.5 GB in AL East) in the second game of a four-game series on Friday at Tropicana Field at 7:10 p.m.
Yankees notes
Gary Sanchez snapped out of an 0-for-14 slump with his 10th-inning home run on Thursday. ... Since returning from the injured list, Aaron Judge is slashing .281/.425/.500 with two home runs and seven RBIs. ... Aroldis Chapman has given up four runs (three earned), eight hits annd two walks over his last five outings (five innings). Prior to that, he had allowed four runs (two earned), 14 hits and eight walks in 26 innings.
| Yankees | Rays |
|---|---|
| DJ LeMahieu, 1B | Austin Meadows, RF |
| Aaron Judge, RF | Tommy Pham, LF |
| Edwin Encarnacion, DH | Kevin Kiermaier, CF |
| Didi Gregorius, SS | Yandy Diaz, DH |
| Gleyber Torres, 2B | Nate Lowe, 1B |
| Gio Urshela, 3B | Willy Adames, SS |
| Brett Gardner, CF | Joey Wendle, 2B |
| Austin Romine, C | Michael Brosseau, 3B |
| Mike Tauchman, LF | Mike Zunino, C |
Who is starting for the Yankees?
RHP Masahiro Tanaka (5-5, 3.74 ERA), who lasted only 2/3 of an inning in last Saturday's start against the Boston Red Sox in London. ... Tanaka has dominated against the Rays this year. In his last start against Tampa Bay, he threw a 10-strikeout, two-hit shutout, and has allowed just one run in 22 innings against the Rays this year. ... Tanaka is 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA in seven road starts this season, while he is 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA at home.
Who is starting for the Rays?
RHP Brendan McKay (1-0, 0.00 ERA), who threw six scoreless innings in his MLB debut last weekend. ... In 13 minor-league games (11 starts), the 23-year-old McKay was 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. ... Prior to the season, McKay was ranked the No. 29 prospect by MLB.com, No. 42 prospect by Baseball Prospectus and No. 47 prospect by Baseball America.
Upcoming schedule
The Yankees and Rays continue their four-game series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. CC Sabathia (5-4, 4.04 ERA) will take the hill for New York, while Blake Snell (5-7, 4.87 ERA) will pitch for Tampa Bay.