Game of the Week: April 30: NYY @ TB

[Commissioner Erick]

New York Yankees (8-10) @ Tampa Bay Rays (12-7)


NYY: Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.95)
TB: Jake Odorizzi (2-0, 3.05)


The Tampa Bay Rays have flown out of the gates, racing to a 12-7 record that leads the American League. After a brutal opening, the New York Yankees have won five in a row. These two AL Rivals will do battle during Monday's Game of the Week.

The Yankees won the Wild Card last year over the Rays by two games, so both teams know the importance these games bring. With the Orioles playing well, and the Blue Jays and Red Sox possessing high end talent and high end budgets, these teams don't have wide margins for error.

The Yankees have turned things around after their schedule turned around. After having a tough time with Baltimore, Toronto, Chicago, and Cleveland, they've starting winning against the San Diego and Boston. Tampa Bay will be a tougher test, though, especially for an offense second from the bottom in runs scored.

After driving in over 100 runs last year, Gary Sanchez has one so far. Aaron Judge is hitting .169. Matt Holliday has three RBIs, and Wladimir Balentien is hitting .214. Out of the players who bat third-seventh in the order, two have OBPs above .300. Seeing numbers like that, you realize the heart of the Yankees offense simply isn't delivering. As a result, the Yankees have only scored over five runs in a game four times this season despite playing a number of games in hitters parks.

That offensive struggle puts a lot of strain on the pitching staff. Nate Eovaldi gets the start tonight with that backdrop. Despite losing a league-leading 17 games for Oakland last year, the Yankees decided to acquire him, trading for him days before the regular season. They gave up Adam Warren who had a nice year as an up-and-down guy, shuttling between Triple-A and the majors. They also gave up Blake Rutherford, the number #49 prospect this year, so they have high expectations for Eovaldi.

Thus far, Eovaldi has produced. He has a 2.95 ERA in three starts, allowing two runs in each of them, despite squaring off against tough offenses in the White Sox, Indians, and Padres. BABIP suppression has played a huge part, but against the offenses he's faced, it's still impressive.

As usual, the Yankees will come to the table with a deep bullpen. Dellin Betances has struggled a bit in the early going, but he and Jonathan Holder are electric arms who will rack up the strikeouts. With Betances throwing 42 pitches yesterday, Tommy Layne working three straight games, and four out of five, and Aroldis Chapman dealing with what scouts are calling, a tender shoulder, Holder may have a prominent part in the game.

They'll take on a Tampa lineup that is deep. Seven different players have double-digit home runs. Six players are hitting .271 or better. The only player who doesn't meet either of those criteria has seven stolen bases already. There isn't a ton of high-end offensive talent, but Casey Gillaspie and Kevin Kiermaier are changing that. After a 37 home run season last year most scouts thought came out of nowhere, Gillaspie has five bombs this year. After hitting .282 with 27 home runs last season, Kiermaier is hitting .313 with five home runs this season. Those players ascending to the offensive players they are has taken the Tampa Bay team from pesky to good.

Jake Odorizzi will get the ball against Eovaldi tonight. Odorizzi gave up a ton of home runs last season, leading the league with 37. He also didn't strike many guys out. On the other hand, he didn't walk anybody and won 13 games with a not-horrible 4.65 ERA. This year, he's working on an increased home run rate, a similar strikeout rate, and a walk rate double than he had last year—and he's getting results! Odorizzi is 2-0 with a 3.05 ERA, despite WAR finding his performance replacement level. The Yankees are slugging the ball but aren't getting on base, so Odorizzi may be the perfect matchup for them, something to keep track of.


Questions for the GMs:


For Greg Masceri, the Balentien signing was one of the biggest of the offseason. How do you feel that he's fared thus far?

What did you see in Eovaldi that made you reach out and trade for him?

You have a lot of speed-and-defense types playing in your infield. Is that a style you prefer, or would you like to see somebody with thump playing second or third base?

For Ryan James, are you worried about Odorizzi's pitching profile facing the Yankees today?

Matt Chapman has struggled hitting in his brief big league career. Though Steven Matz is pitching well, are you worried that you're lacking an extra bat after the Evan Longoria trade?

Xavier Cedneo is 1-3 with a 14.14 ERA. He's allowed 5.1 walks per nine and 2.6 home runs per nine. He's also allowed a .722 BABIP, but has struck out 20.6 batters per nine. What the hell is going on with his start to the year?

[gmyankees]

Balentien is under performing this season so far but he's in great company as all of our power hitters are doing so. These guys will start playng like they should be and get us winning on a regular basis. As far as our infield is concerned I like the group of guys we have there and even though we may lack power we can hit for average and play tough defense. We like our chances against a tough Tampa team as we are hoping to keep our recent streak going beyond 5 games.

[Ryan - Mets]

We trust Odorizzi to get the job done today. Yes, we'd like to see him allow fewer home runs, but we like our chances if he can keep the ball in the strike zone and avoid putting men on via the walk.

Matt Champan is a player we feel has a chance to make a big impact for us both this season and in the future. He's a player that won't hit for a high average, but has the power to make an impact on any game (similar to Joey Gallo in Arizona). We just want to see more of that power at the major league level.

You're right, Xavier Cedneo has gotten off to a rough start this season. Personally, I try my best not to overreact to slow starts from bullpen arms early in the season. However, if this trend continues it'll definitely become a concern for us.

Looking forward to the game today and the opportunity to face a great division rival!

[Commissioner Erick]

Yankees 7 - Rays 1


WP: N. Eovaldi (2-1)
LP: J. Odorizzi (2-1)


Jake Odorizzi has a penchant for giving up the long ball. It's what did in the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night.

Clint Frazier crushed a three run home run in the seventh inning, Nathan Eovaldi allowed only one run in 7 innings, and the New York Yankees won 7-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Odorizzi's inability to prevent extra base hits hurt him in three separate innings. Dee Gordon led off the game by pulling the first pitch into right center field and legging out a double. Greg Bird sacrificed him over, and Gary Sanchez hit a fly ball to bring the run in. In the fourth inning Wladimir Balentien smashed an opposite field home run for the Yankees second run.

The sixth inning really broke the game open. After Odorizzi opened by striking out the struggling Sanchez and Aaron Judge, Matt Holliday stroked a single to keep the inning alive. Balentien drew a walk, bringing up Clint Frazier. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Odorizzi threw a fastball that caught too much of the plate and Frazier went the other way for a huge three-run home run. That made the score 5-1 Yankees and they never looked back.

Shawn Tolleson came on and promptly gave up a double to Didi Gregorious and a single to Ronald Torreyes to make the score 6-1. Greg Bird led off the seventh with a long ball to make it 7-1, to cap off the scoring.

Meanwhile Eovaldi cruised, and his key was the leadoff man. He retired the leadoff hitter in six of the seven frames he worked. The only inning he didn't was the fourth when he walked Matt Duffy to begin it. Kevin Kiermaier doubled Duffy to third and Casey Gillaspie's sacrifice fly brought Duffy in. Matt Chapman hit a fly ball single that moved Kiermaier to third, but Brad Miller flew out and Khris Davis grounded into a fielder's choice to end the frame.

Eovaldi worked 7 innings, allowing just a run on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven in an exemplary performance that also saved a tired bullpen. Aroldis Chapman was able to rest and only Bryan Mitchell was needed to finish the game.

Balentien, Frazier, Gregorious, Torreyes, and Gordon each had two hits, while Bird had a home run. Fascinatingly, despite the outburst, it wasn't the middle of the order that did the work for the Yankees. It was everyone else.


Questions for the GMs:


For Greg Masceri, Frazier, Balentien, and Gregorious all were struggling and each had two hits. How nice was it to see all three players have a strong game?

Eovaldi really was strong with just a run in 7 innings. What made you go out and get him in the first place?

What does it say about your team that so many key hitters can continue to struggle yet you've now won six in a row?

For Ryan James, tough game as your guys really struggled against Eovaldi. Mallex Smith had another quiet game, with only 1-4, though the hit was a double. How long do you give him in the leadoff spot?

Jake Odorizzi kept the ball in the strike zone as you wanted to see, and he threw strikes. He still gave up five runs. How will you approach Odorizzi's spot in the rotation going forward?

With Frazier having six home runs on the season, and the situation in the sixth being so pivotal, were you fine with Odorizzi being left in or would you rather have seen a reliever come on?