Yankees are about to run into enemy central with Padres announcing starting pitchers

The New York Yankees will roll into San Diego to take on the Padres with eyes on doing everything possible to catch the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East crown. The Yankees are currently 3.0 games behind the Rays, and the Padres have just announced that they're going to make it as difficult as possible for New York to gain ground this weekend.

San Diego's starters are a who's who of Yankees enemies. Walker Buehler will take on Max Fried on Friday, while Robbie Ray will go toe to toe with Carlos Rodón on Saturday, and old friend Michael King gets his turn on Sunday against... upside-down question mark?

Buehler was on the mound for the Dodgers to close out the Yankees during Game 5 of the 2024 World Series just two days after serving as Los Angeles's Game 3 starter.

Ray, back in 2021 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, drew the ire of Yankees fans for edging out Gerrit Cole for the AL Cy Young Award. Cole was more efficient with regards to strikeouts, walks, and home run suppression, and outproduced Ray in fWAR 5.2 to 3.9 fWAR.

We obviously have fond memories of King, who was a devastating multi-inning relief weapon and budding starter during his time in pinstripes, but it's hard to forget his comments on the way out the door, proclaiming that the Padres won the Juan Soto trade (they didn't).

With so many tormentors lined up, it's going to be a tough task. However, there are some silver linings that indicate that the Yankees can prevail.

Yankees have an opportunity to get back at some enemies in the Padres matchup

So while we've got some instigators and tormentors on our hands, it's important to note that these guys aren't all the same pitchers they were when they victimized the Yankees.

Walker Buehler got knocked around by the Yankees last year as a member of the Boston Red Sox, a development that didn't erase 2024's heartbreak but was a form of sweet revenge. Once one of the most promising young starters in all of baseball, a litany of injuries has ravaged Buehler's abilities. On the season, he owns a 4.66 ERA and 4.32 FIP, which are hardly numbers that strike fear in our hearts.

As for Ray, gone are the days that he was a Cy Young caliber arm. Now, he more closely resembles a back-end innings eater. The southpaw's strikeout rate is down to 20.3% from a career average of 27.7%. His walk rate is up to 11.7% from his 10.1 career mark. He may own a 3.14 ERA, but a 4.64 FIP and 4.84 xFIP show us that he's vulnerable.

Even King has his weak spots. Though he holds a 3.11 ERA on the season, his 7.83 K/9 is a career low, and his FIP comes in over a run higher than his ERA at 4.19. He'll be the toughest test, but not an insurmountable one.

The Yankees' bats have slumbered for most of the season, but over the last 10 games, they've started to come alive. New York hitters own a collective .769 OPS, ranking eighth in the majors since August 25. The 57 runs they've scored (an average of 5.7 per game) over that span rank second. They have a chance to capitalize and gain ground on the Rays.

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