C.C. Sabathia Vs David Price… Oh Boy!

Apr 6, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees starting pitcher

(52) walks off the field during the sixth inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. The New York Yankees won 6-4.

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Bet you’re wishing the Rays traded David Price in the off-season, huh? Today the Yankees will face off against the Rays and David Price in the first of a four-game series. The Yankees’ will send none other than C.C. Sabathia to the mound to face off against the Tampa Bay ace. If you’re thinking you’ve heard this before you’d be right. Sabathia and Price have shared the same mound quite a bit and it hasn’t turned out that well for the Yankees on most occasions. The Yankees are riding a four-game winning streak and maybe that could help swing the game in their favor but history says otherwise.

In 2009, Sabathia joined the Yankees as the ace of their staff. As luck would have it 2009 was also Price’s first full year in the Major Leagues with Tampa. Since then, the two would pitch against each other nine times and the Yankees have not enjoyed the results. In those nine starts, Sabathia has pitched to a 4.50 ERA compared to Price’s 2.41 ERA in those match-ups. While Sabathia hasn’t always melted down against Price, he certainly hasn’t done well against him. His recent labors on the mound, while showing promising signs of improving, aren’t going to help him much come game time. In his first three starts, C.C. has a 1-2 record with a 6.63 ERA. While he seems to be pitching better, it’s not nearly where the Yankees would like him to be or where the rest of their starting pitching is right now. Price is pitching well early in the season and that doesn’t bode well for the Bombers.

Apr 5, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher David Price (14) throws the ball during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

But, there is one thing working in Sabathia’s favor. That being that the Rays are not hitting well. They’ve scored only 14 runs in their last nine games and won only 3 games during their 8-game road trip against the Royals, Reds and Orioles. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Wil Myers, is batting .200 with no home runs and just 4 RBI and Evan Longoria is batting .286 but has only hit one home run to go along with his underwhelming 6 RBI. Maybe the Rays’ hitting woes will give Sabathia an edge as the Yankees seem to have found their swing recently and look to continue it against Price.

Over the off-season many thought that the Rays would trade David Price as his contract is due to expire after 2015. The Mariners, Dodgers, Rangers and even the Yankees were seen as possible candidates but in the end he stayed right where he was. A slow start and a boat load of injuries to the pitching staff may tempt the Rays to deal him at the trade deadline in July. I bet C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees wish Price was traded already. Maybe today won’t follow past trends, but right now David Price has Sabathia’s number.