NFL
By: Billy Lewis
The New York Yankees return home to the Bronx to host the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set starting Tuesday night. Despite having MLB’s best record at 50-24, the Yankees also own the slimmest division lead with the Orioles nipping at their heels at 47-24.
The game-and-a-half division lead makes this a crucial series against the reigning AL East champion Orioles. This will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams and the Orioles had the Yankees number in round one, with the Yankees dropping three out of four in Baltimore.
The Bronx Bombers should be anxious to return home after dropping their weekend series in Boston. They’ll be looking to rebound and hold off a hot Baltimore team. It may be a middle-of-the-week series but the atmosphere in the Bronx should be electric.
The Yankees’ Good and Bad Injury News
Tuesday night will see Nestor Cortes face off against Albert Suárez. Nasty Nestor has been great in the Bronx this season. Though he has struggled on the road, Cortes brings a 1.77 home ERA and holds opposing batters to a .191 batting average.
The Orioles have a great lineup, led by Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Anthony Santander. They are always a handful, and Nestor will have to keep them off-balance to continue his home success.
Wednesday night the Yankees and fans alike get the much-anticipated return of ace Gerrit Cole. Cole will go against Orioles’ youngster Cade Povich. It won’t be an easy task as Cole is making his first regular-season start of 2024, but we know just how much Cole loves to compete.
Thursday night’s series finale sees Luis Gil go against Cole Irvin. The Yankees have gotten off to a hot start this season and as we get close to the midpoint of the season, they’ll have a tremendous test. After the three games against Baltimore, the Yankees will welcome the Atlanta Braves to town.
Unfortunately, the Yankees are going to be without first baseman Anthony Rizzo. After leaving Sunday’s series finale in Fenway, Rizzo was diagnosed with an arm fracture and will miss 4-6 weeks. Though Rizzo has struggled this season, he was starting to heat up in Kansas City and is a steady defensive force at first base. Also, Ben Rice is getting called up from AA/AAA where he was hitting .275 with a .925 OBS and 15 homers.
The Yankees will more than likely slide DJ LeMahieu to first base and we’ll see Oswaldo Cabrera at third. Cabrera got off to a hot start this season when he was playing every day, and will look to capitalize on this opportunity.
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