Yanks Go Yard Radio Show Rewind: Yankees-Rays Preview (5/27-5/29)

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, we looked ahead to the Yankees’ weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays

On the most recent episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I started off by giving my takeaways from the New York Yankees (22-24) losing two out of three games to the Toronto Blue Jays at home. Even though Alex Rodriguez came back to the lineup yesterday, Mark Teixeira is out with a neck injury and Chasen Shreve is currently on the disabled list.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a ten game road trip when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays (21-24) in a three game series at Tropicana Field. These two teams met on April 22-24 at Yankee Stadium with the Yankees winning two out of three games.

While Kevin Cash’s team is 10-12 this month, they have been hitting the ball out of the ballpark. Their 40 home runs are more than any team in baseball this month, they lead the American League in home runs for the year (67),  and they are tied for sixth in the AL in runs scored. Nobody on the team has a double-digit home run total, but Steven Souza Jr. leads the team with nine home runs.

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However, their team took a hit when center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who is arguably one of tbest defenders in the game, suffered two fractures in his left hand during the Tigers series. He is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, leaving a big defensive gap in center field.

As for the starting pitching, Tampa Bay is sixth in the AL in starters’ ERA (4.12), but they have not been going as deep into games. Their ace, Chris Archer, is coming off of a bad start against the Tigers when he gave up six runs in three innings and he has a 5.16 ERA in ten outings this year.

Even though closer Brad Boxberger is still on the disabled list, Alex Colome has taken over the closer’s job and been great for the Rays. He has 12 saves in 13 chances, a 1.29 ERA, and 28 strikeouts in 21 innings.

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To talk more about the Rays, my guest for this episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show was Dan Slaubaugh, a writer over at Rays Colored Glasses. Dan gave his take on what he would do to shake up the Rays and the impact that losing Kiermaier has on this team. Here are some of the other topics we discussed:

• Takeaways from the Rays’ play in the month of May
• Who will step up in Kiermaier’s absence?
• Concern about Rays’ starters not going as deep into games?
• Pitching Matchup Breakdown
• Chris Archer (Tonight’s Rays’ starter) has given up a home run in four of his last five starts
• Masahiro Tanaka (Tonight’s Yankees’ starter) with a 1.69 ERA on the road this season
• Matt Moore (Tomorrow’s Rays’ starter) looking for his first win in May
• Michael Pineda (Tomorrow’s Yankees’ starter) had a strong bounceback outing against the A’s
• Jake Odorizzi (Sunday’s Rays’ starter) has only thrown 27 innings in five May starts
• Nathan Eovaldi (Sunday’s Yankees’ starter) is 5-0 in his last six starts
• Yankees players to watch: Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann
• Rays players to watch: Steven Souza Jr. and Logan Morrison
• Update on when Boxberger might return to the bullpen
• How has Colome transitioned from a starter to the team’s closer?

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