THE BRONX, NY — The stretch to October begins tonight in the Bronx with the defending champion Dodgers coming to town to take on the Yankees. Though the Yankees are not at full strength, this series is a test for the Yankees because this could be the team they face in the World Series if both come out of their respective leagues.
The Dodgers are a powerhouse. There are stars up and down the lineup; even if the numbers don’t say so, they can break out at any time. The Dodgers lead the league in wins and seem to always come up with the big hit. The Yankees should be refreshed coming out of the All-Star break, both offensively and on the pitching side, and they need to show it tonight and this weekend.
First pitch on Friday (WildFire Smoke Pending) is scheduled for 7:05pm on YES.
Yankees Lineup:
The Yankees are going with their best overall lineup tonight against the Dodgers, which includes Josè Caballero playing shortstop, Paul Goldschmidt playing first base with Ben Rice as the team’s designated hitter, and Ryan McMahon playing third base.
The Yankees are starting Gerrit Cole today after the All-Star break. His past two outings, against the Twins and Rays, were much better than what he previously put up. Now, Cole has had some extended rest between his outings, which should benefit him in his return from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers lineup is among the top lineups in baseball, and this will be a good test for Cole and what he needs to work on as the season progresses into the postseason.
Dodgers Lineup:
The Dodgers are starting Rōki Sazaki tonight against the Yankees. Sazaki has great stuff, but the results have not been there for most of the season. This will be the first time Sazaki has faced the Yankees, or anyone in their lineup, which should be a challenge for both sides tonight. It should be interesting to see how the Yankees handle at-bats against Sazaki, who can be wild at times with issuing walks.
Other Yankees Pregame Notes:
- Max Fried (bone bruise) will begin a rehab assignment tonight with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He will throw 50 pitches, per Boone. It’s unknown how many rehab outings Fried will need, but his return is closer than not, which will help with some of the issues the Yankees’ rotation has seen.
- Clarke Schmidt will face live batters tomorrow for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery just over one year ago.
- The imaging on Aaron Judge showed some healing, per Jon Heyman. Yankees PR released a statement saying that Judge’s imaging showed healing but not enough to resume baseball activities. He will be re-imaged before ramping up.
- Giancarlo Stanton has fully resumed his running program, per Boone. There is still no timetable for his rerurn to the lineup.
- George Lombard Jr. has been activated off the IL for the RailRiders. He could be an option at some point this season for the Yankees to come up and play some infield positions.
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