In theory, taking two of three in a road series to open the week should qualify as a success, but in dropping the series finale in Minnesota, the Yankees lost ground in the AL East race, and they wake up today in Arizona five back of the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s a sobering set of events; the Yankees have played very good baseball for some time now, but haven’t been able to inch closer at all to their rivals. The goal at this point is to get the deficit within four, so that when the Yankees and Rays match up for four games in the Bronx next week, New York still has something of a gutshot straight draw, a narrow window to move into first with a sweep.
This morning on the site, you can get ready for the weekend series against the Diamondbacks with Nick’s preview, and get caught up on Thursday’s action with Sam’s Rivalry Roundup. Later, Matt’s entry in our Yankee Birthday series features a lesser-known figure in Brent Lillibridge, Josh discusses why Cam Schlitter’s stellar season has him leaving fWAR, and Madison delivers the answers to this week’s mailbag.
Today’s Matchup:
New York Yankees at Arizona Diamondbacks
Time: 9:40 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, DBacks.tv
Venue: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Questions/Prompts:
1. Will Gerrit Cole turn things around and reel in his gopher-ball problems tonight?
2. The 73-80 Detroit Tigers have nearly the same run differential as the 93-59 Tampa Bay Rays. This is less a question than it is a frustrated observation.
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