Terrific Pitching Matchups For First Rays-Yankees Series at Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays are 60 games in their season already, but wake up in the Big Apple on Tuesday for the first time all year. They're in New York for their first of three series at Yankee Stadium this season, and they've got their work cut out for them.
The Yankees are off to a blistering start, going 44-16 in their first 60 games, a .733 winning percentage. The most successful franchise in baseball history, the 27-time world champions have actually been better several other times before. This is only the fifth-best start through 60 games, with 1939 being the benchmark when they went 47-13.
But don't think this start isn't historic. It's only the 16th ever in baseball history that a team has won 44 of its first 60 games.
They're off to a hot start because they are doing everything right. They have pitched great, leading the majors in runs allowed, and they are second in runs scored. They outscored the Chicago Cubs 28-5 in their three-game series this weekend.
"It's been nice that (the wins are) coming in a lot of different ways," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said two weeks ago when the Yankees made their first trip to Tropicana Field. They split a four-game series. "I think that's built a lot of confidence in that room that we know, we don't have to lean on one thing on a given night. We have a lot of different ways to beat you."
The Rays (35-25) are 10 games over .500, which puts them nine games behind the Yankees heading into Tuesday's series opener. They Yankees won the first two meetings on May 26-27, but then the Rays bounced back to win the last two, getting great starts from Corey Kluber and Shane McClanahan.
Those two will be back on the mound in this series as well, pitching Tuesday and Wednesday. Drew Rasmussen goes in the series finale on Thursday night.
Here's a breakdown on the pitching matchups for the three games. They all start at 7:05 p.m. ET. Tuesday's game is also nationally televised on TBS.
Tuesday: Corey Kluber vs. Gerrit Cole
- KLUBER'S NUMBERS: Corey Kluber is 3-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 11 starts thus far. He's allowed three runs or less in nine of his 11 starts. This is Kluber's 12th year in the bigs, with the 36-year-old posting a 106-63 career record.
- COLE'S NUMBERS: Gerrit Cole is 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 12 starts this season. He has 84 strikeouts in just 67 innings this year. This is Cole's 10th year in the majors, and he has a 122-64 career record.
- THE SKINNY: These two squared off in that May 28 game at Tropicana Field, and both of them were great. Kluber went six innings and allowed just a first-inning run on an Anthony Rizzo sacrifice fly and only three hits. Cole matched him pitch for pitch, allowing just two hits over six innings, and striking out 10 Rays hitters, the fifth straight time he's had a double-digit strikeout game against Tampa Bay. He have up a run in his final inning after allowing two walks and a Randy Arozarena single that tied the game at 1-1. The Rays bullpen took it from there, pitching three scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. They Rays went ahead with a run in the seventh on a Yandy Diaz single and added an insurance run in the eighth on a Manuel Margot single in the 3-1 win. Cole and Kluber were teammates in New York a year ago, and have a great deal of respect for one another.
Wednesday: Shane McClanahan vs. Nestor Cortes
- McCLANAHAN'S NUMBERS: Shane McClanahan has been terrific lately. He is 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 12 starts thus far, and leads the majors with 98 strikeouts. The Rays are 7-0 in his last seven starts, and he's gone 6-0 in this stretch with an 0.90 ERA in his last six starts. This is McClanahan's second year in the bigs, with the 25-year-old posting a 17-8 career record.
- CORTES' NUMBERS: Nestor Cortes is 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA in 12 starts this season. He has 71 strikeouts in just 64 1/3 innings this year. He got roughed up in his last outing, giving up four runs to the Minnesota Twins in just 4 1/3 innings. It was just the second time all season where he's allowed more than two earned runs in a game. This is Cortes' fifth year in the majors, and second with the Yankees. He has a 12-7 career record.
- THE SKINNY: These two both pitched great in the first series, with Cortes going eight innings and allowing just one run to get the win in the series opener. McClanahan pitched the Sunday finale and allowed just one run in seven innings in the Rays' 4-2 win. This is definitely a matchup worth watching, with both starters still sporting ERA's under 2.00 this late into June.
Thursday: Drew Rasmussen vs. Luis Severino
- RASMUSSEN'S NUMBERS: Drew Rasmussen has had a couple of rough outings in the past two weeks, so his numbers have taken a big jump. He is 5-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 starts thus far, but his ERA has jumped from a 2.33 season low on May 18 This is Rasmussen's first full year as a starter, and he's already pitched 58 innings. He pitched 59 total innings a year ago, and never threw more than 74 innings in a season in the minors.
- SEVERINO'S NUMBERS: Luis Severino is 4-1 with a 2.80 ERA in 11 starts this season. He has 71 strikeouts in just 61 innings this year. He has allowed just one earned run over 13 innings in his two June starts. This is his seventh year in the majors — he missed the shortened 2020 season — and has a 47-27 career record. He was the losing pitcher in that series finale against McClanahan on May 29. He allowed only two hits, but gave up four runs.
- THE SKINNY: The Rays really need to get some consistency out of Rasmussen. He threw seven scoreless innings against the White Sox on June 4, but got touched for seven runs — four earned — on Friday at Minnesota, and allowed five runs at Texas on May 30. Prior to that, in five consecutive starts, he was 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA. They need him to bounce back, especially since Severino seems to be finding his groove.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- AL CENTRAL TROUBLES: Even though Tampa Bay beat Minnesota on Sunday, they lost the series and have lost all four series this year to the Twins and Chicago White Sox of the AL Central. It was an opportunity wasted for the Rays, losing against teams that have struggled before and after their meetings this season. CLICK HERE
- SPRINGS RESCUE RAYS (Sunday): Tampa Bay starter Jeffrey Springs had his second straight scoreless outing, helping the Rays snap a four-game losing streak to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday with a convincing 6-0 win. Springs now has the lowest earned run average in the majors at 1.45. CLICK HERE
- GRAND SLAM DOOMS BAZ IN DEBUT (Saturday): Tampa Bay right-hander Shane Baz threw two perfect innings in his 2022 debut on Saturday at Minnesota, but then it all went wrong in the third inning, where he gave up five runs. The Rays couldn't recover and lost for the second straight day, falling 6-5 to the Twins. CLICK HERE
- TWINS THUMP RAYS (Friday): Minnesota standout Byron Buxton hit two more home runs Friday night in leading the Twins to a 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He's now hit five homers in three games, and the Twins have scored nine runs against Rays in three straight games now. CLICK HERE
- RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the Rays' complete schedule for 2022, with results and stats thus far, and gametimes and locations for the rest of the year. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.