CC Sabathia (8-12, 4.20 ERA) and Alex Cobb (0-0, 3.60 ERA) start in the first of a four-game series between the New York Yankees (73-65) and the Tampa Bay Rays (59-79) at Yankee Stadium. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sep. 8 and can be seen on YES and SUN.
Sabathia pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering two, striking out one and walking two in a 2-0 defeat to the Orioles. Carlos Beltran (.299, 67 Rs, 27 HRs, 85 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run, one home run, and three RBIs. Cobb went 5.0 innings, surrendering two runs, striking out seven and walking one in an 8-3 win over the Blue Jays in his most recent start. Evan Longoria (.280, 71 Rs, 31 HRs, 85 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Rays, going 2 for 5 yesterday.
Notes
The Rays won their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Yankees are 23-9. The Rays are 12-20 in close games this season.
When leading after seven innings, New York is 39-31, while Tampa Bay is 27-38.
The Rays managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Yankees who are heading in with a 35-14 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rays are 41-12. The Yankees have a 56-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 21st, Tampa Bay sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 585 this season. New York ranks in the bottom half at 20th with 586.
Ranking 25th, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.719). Tampa Bay ranks in the bottom half at 16th with an OPS of .738.
When the Rays allow at least one home run, they are 32-71. When the Yankees allow one or more homers, they have a 42-53 record.
