Bronx Bomber Ball

The Yankees 12-1 victory completed the series sweep of the Rays behind an offensive explosion and excellent start from CC Sabathia, who added another milestone to his historic career with his 250th career win. Sabathia is now the 14th pitcher in Major League history to reach 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts, well on his way to Cooperstown.   Photo Credit: NJ.com

For the second straight weekend the Yankees and Rays are set to face off, this time in the Bronx. Since the last time they saw each other both teams are 2-0 with the Rays taking two from the Marlins and the Yanks winning a doubleheader against the Orioles. This means Tampa Bay will open this series leading the AL East by just half a game, so whoever wins this series will be on top of the division.   Photo Credit: SI.com

Coming into this final game of the three-game set, both teams had won one game with the Yankees winning game one in a one run contest and the Rays winning the second game in blowout fashion. With the Yankees looking to catch up to the Rays in the standings, this game was a crucial one for this rolling Yankees team. Julio Aguilar | Getty Images

Following their rain-shortened two-game series split against the Mets at home this past weekend, the Yankees head down South for three days to face the Rays in Tampa Bay.  Tropicana Field has, in a way, been a house of horrors for New York, having gone just 4-9 at The Trop since the beginning of 2017 including an ugly three-game sweep just a month ago. The Yankees will begin play today at 63-34, five full games behind the first place Red Sox.  Tampa Bay comes in at 50-49, 19 games out of first and 9.5 games back of Seattle for the second Wild Card position. With trade rumors swirling for both squads and the teams headed in opposite directions, this series provides a key opportunity for the Yankees to get back on track and put pressure on Boston to once again close up the AL East race.

The Yankees are a league best 23-10 at home this season, and they will look to add to their win total when the Rays enter town for a four-game set. The Yankees are coming off a two-game split with the Washington Nationals, and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. The Rays just swept the Blue Jays at home but are a measly 4-6 over their last 10. The Rays offense has struggled all season, so look for the two young Yankee starters to go out and compete in the first two games of this series. This will be just the second series this season between the two clubs.

Yesterday we found out Sir Didi Gregorius is another avid reader of this blog. He knew how badly we needed a win and decided to take it upon himself to make sure we got back on track.  The hope is that we get a whole lot more of Didi shrugging like Jordan this season. It’s good for the Yankees, it’s good for baseball, and more importantly, it’s good for this blog.  Photo Credit: The Boston Globe

Baseball is back at the Bronx, after five months, 15 days, and seven hours of anticipation (but who’s counting?), the Yankees will don their pinstripes in The Cathedral of Baseball on East 161st Street. This will be the first chance for most Yankee fans to see their team up close in person, and with all the hype surrounding this team this offseason, between the trade for Giancarlo Stanton and the anointing of the best bullpen in baseball, the Bronx Faithful are chomping at the bit to finally see their Bombers take on the Tampa Bay Rays.  CBSSports.com

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees faced the Tampa Bay Rays for the middle game of a three game set. Masahiro Tanaka toed the rubber and had another solid outing as in seven innings the righty struck out seven and allowed only two runs. 23-year-old Blake Snell made his MLB debut and was impressive, striking out seven and allowing one run.  Photo Credit: Associated Press/Frank Franklin II

Mid-Friday afternoon, just before the lineups were released for Friday’s Game 1 of a 3-game series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees, the Rays announced that they were calling up LHP Blake Snell to make his MLB debut and start against the Yankees on Saturday. Previously, that spot in the rotation belonged to Erasmo Ramirez, but he’s bounced in and out of the rotation, and Rays manager Kevin Cash has already said Snell will make one start and then return to Triple-A Durham. Many Yankee fans became worried after hearing this news, and the common sentiment was that the Yankees don’t do well facing a pitcher for the first time and that Blake Snell is filthy and could potentially dominate the Yankees. With that, here’s a preview of what the Yankees will face with Snell on the mound today (Saturday, 4/23) and his history in the minors. Picture Credit: Sun Photo/Jennifer Bruno