Yankees vs. Odorizzi: The Numbers Look Good For Game Two

The Yankees will face the number two man in the Rays rotation tonight. And if you need a little picker-upper after Sunday’s debacle, here you go.

The Yankees, unfortunately,  picked Sunday to follow the example of the North Koreans by launching a missile that blew up in the sky. And it didn’t help any that Chris Archer came out pitching like Chris Archer. But tonight, they get another chance when they face Jake Odorizzi, who’ll be matched up against CC Sabathia.

While not a must-win at this stage of the season, it sure will have a better feel to see the Yankees 1-1 instead of 0-2. The good news is that the bats that failed to show up the other day have a history against Odorizzi that spells the team having a wake-up call and a chance of scoring some runs.

With stats provided by ESPN, here’s a look at some of the key guys in the Yankees lineup against Odorizzi:

Greg Bird: 2-4 with two home runs and four RBI
Matt Holliday: 2-5 with two home runs
Gary Sanchez: 1-3 with a home run and two RBI
Aaron Judge: One at-bat. Guess what? Home run.

Tallied up, the Yankees have hit eight home runs off Odorizzi, including two more (one each) by Brett Gardner and Starlin Castro. Which translates into 2/3 of the lineup the team will send out tonight.

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This is a dangerous game, though, as we know. Performance yesterday doesn’t automatically transform itself into success today.

Because if we simply go by the numbers, the Yankees have produced against Chris Archer, Starlin Castro (7-15, .467, 5 RBI) and Jacoby Ellsbury (19-37, .513), the nineteen game loser of last season should have been in the showers by the fourth inning. Except, he wasn’t.

But what the stats against Odorizzi do show, unquestionably, is that the Yankees are capable of vaporizing any pitcher or team in this league, in a way that not only levels the playing field but produces wins even when their starting pitching doesn’t rise to the challenge.

At 27, Odorizzi’s career is on the rise following a 10-6 season in 2016, for which he was rewarded with a $4.1 million one-year contract by the Rays. Overall, his career record stands at 30-30.

Bombers Bits And Pieces

****While Didi Gregorius is on the newly created 10-day disabled list, Tyler Austin was placed on the 60-day DL signally that it will be quite a while before we see Austin this year, but maybe not as long as we expected Gregorius to be out.

****The New York City Council is making a push to extend the protective nets at both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. Boo, hiss.

****The Yankees payroll is now the lowest it’s been since 1993 and the third highest overall among major league franchises today. Congratulations to the Dodgers and thanks for moving the spotlight your way.

****Masahiro Tanaka attributes his ineffectiveness on Sunday to being “too hyped up.” Sure hope that’s right and it’s not something else.

The 2017 Yankees and AL East Predictions (Part 2)

The Yankees have a bright future and I look forward to seeing their young talent develop. But the future is now for the Red Sox.

****All the teams that were expected to win their season openers, including the Red Sox, Indians, Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, and Astros came through with victories on Monday.

****The box score for Sunday’s game provided by ESPN list the attendance as 30,042 with an asterisk indicating that 100% capacity. Really? Those YES cameras must have been lying.