TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
No release available.
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their seven-game homestand tonight with the second game of a four-game set vs. Tampa Bay (0-1 thus far)…are 3-1 on the homestand after recording their first sweep of the season vs. Oakland and dropping the first game of their series vs. Tampa Bay.
Had their three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday…are still 6-3 in their last nine games.
Have won or split eight of their 12 completed series this season (going 7-4-1).
Are eight days into a 17-day stretch (5/5-21) without an off day (4-3 so far)…are also in a 34-day stretch with just one off day (4/18-5/21).
Are in a stretch of playing 7-of-10 games vs. the Rays (5/5-14)…are 1-3 so far.
Are also in a stretch of playing 11-of-14 games (5/5-18) and 14-of-20 games (5/5-25) against the AL East.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees fell to the Rays, 8-2, in their series opener on Thursday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Domingo Germán (5.2IP, 3H, 2R/1ER, 3BB, 3K) recorded his third loss of the season despite allowing just 2R/1ER in 5.2 innings…LF Jake Bauers (2-for-4) recorded two of the Yankees’ four hits…DH Willie Calhoun (1-for-3, 1R, 1 double) recorded the Yankees’ only extra-base hit with a ninth-inning double…1B Anthony Rizzo (0-for-3, 1R, 1BB) drew a ninth-inning walk to extend his on-base streak to 10 games (since 5/1)…3B DJ LeMahieu (0-for-3, 1BB) drew a ninth-inning walk to extend his season-high on-base streak to 10 games…2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-4, 2RBI) drove in both of the Yankees’ runs with a two-run single in the ninth inning… Yankees relievers allowed 6ER in 3.1 innings of relief…RHP Ryan Weber (2.0IP, 5H, 3ER, 1K, 1HR) made his season debut.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo owns a 10- game on-base streak (since 5/1)…marks his longest on-base streak since a 12-game streak from 10/4/22(G1)-4/11/23…is batting .333/.422/.410 (13-for-39) with 10R, 1HR, 4RBI and 6BB over the streak.
Has reached base via H/BB/HP in 12-of-23 plate appearances over his last five games (7H, 5BB).
Has reached base in 14 of his last 15 games and 33 of his 38 games this season.
Has reached base in 21-of-22 games at home this season, hitting .354/.441/.582 (28-for-79) with 15R, 3 doubles, 5HR, 12RBI, 10BB, 3HP and 1SF in those games.
Is batting .305/.388/.466 (36-for-118) with 20R, 4 doubles, 5HR, 13RBI, 11BB and 4HP in his last 31 games (since 4/9).
Has hit safely in eight of his last nine games and 12 of his last 15 games…has multiple hits in three of his last four games and five of his last nine.
Has reached base multiple times in six of his last nine games.
Is batting .394/.487/.515 (13-for-33) with 1 double, 1HR and 5BB vs. left-handed pitchers this season… his .394 BA and .487 OBP vs. lefties are the highest in the Majors among left-handed batters.
JAKE RAKES: INF/OF Jake Bauers recorded two of the Yankees’ four hits on Thursday…marked his first multi-hit game of the year and his first since 8/23/21 at Oakland with Seattle (also 2H).
Has reached base multiple times in three of his last five starts, going 4-for-14 with 2R, 2HR, 4RBI, 2BB and 1SF.
DOMINGO DEALT: RHP Domingo Germán allowed just 2R/1ER in 5.2 innings on Thursday…has allowed 2R-orfewer in five of his eight starts this season, including each of his last three…has posted a 1.89 ERA (19.0IP, 4ER) over his last three starts.
Ranks fifth in the Majors in opponents’ BA (.174), eighth in opponents’ OBP (.251) and 10th in WHIP (0.96).
ON A ROLL: OF Willie Calhoun has hit safely in eight of his last 10 starts, batting .333/.378/.545 (11-for-33) with 4R, 1 double, 2HR, 5RBI, 3BB and 1SF in those starts.
COLE TRAIN: RHP Gerrit Cole will make his ninth start of the season tonight…is 5-0 with a 2.09 ERA (51.2IP, 12ER)
and 58K in eight starts this season…his 2.09 ERA is the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee through his first eight starts of a season in the last 20 years (since 2004), trailing his own 1.37 ERA in 2021 and Nestor Cortes’ 1.80 ERA in 2022.
Is one of four pitchers to go 5-0-or-better this year… joins Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (7-0), Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (6-0) and Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (5-0).
The Yankees are 7-1 in his starts this season…is one of three starting pitchers this season to have his team win at least seven of his starts…joins Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (club is 8-0 in 8GS) and Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (club is 7-0 in 7GS).
Has allowed 2R-or-fewer in seven of his first eight starts and 1R-or-fewer in four of his starts…three of his eight starts this season have been scoreless.
Is tied for fourth in the Majors in wins (five, tied for second in AL) and innings pitched (51.2, tied for third in AL), ranks fifth in HR/9.0IP (0.35, fourth in AL), is tied for sixth in strikeouts (58, tied for fourth in AL), seventh in ERA (2.09, fourth in AL), seventh in opponents’ SLG (.284, fourth in AL), ninth in opponents’ OPS (.551, fifth in AL) and 10th in opponents’ BA (.197, seventh in AL).
According to FanGraphs, his 1.7 WAR is the fourth-highest among Major League pitchers.
Is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA (33.0IP, 3ER) and 41K in five home starts this season.
Has not left a game this season with the Yankees trailing.
MILESTONE MAN: RHP Gerrit Cole has 1,988 career strikeouts in 275 career games and needs 12K to reach 2,000 career strikeouts…Randy Johnson (262G), Clayton Kershaw (277G), Max Scherzer (287G) and Nolan Ryan (287G) are the only four players in Major League history to record 2,000 career strikeouts in 290 games-or-fewer.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Yankees have won or split six of their seven completed series at home this season (going 5-1-1)…are 10-5 in their last 15 home games (since 4/15).
GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres drove in both of the Yankees’ runs on Thursday with a two-run single in the ninth inning…owns a season-high seven-game hitting streak, batting .333/.364/.667 (10-for-30) with 6R, 4 doubles, 2HR, 9RBI, 2BB and 1SF over that span…marks his longest hitting streak since a 10-game streak from 9/9-21/22.
Seven of his last 11 hits and 10 of his last 16 hits have gone for extra bases (6 doubles, 4HR).
Has reached base safely in 17 of his last 20 games…has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games.
Has 8RBI in his last five games and 9RBI in his last seven games.
Has driven in a run in a career-high five straight games.
DARTH BADER: OF Harrison Bader has reached base in eight of nine games this season, batting .400/.438/.833 (12-for-30) with 7R, 2 triples, 3HR, 11RBI, 1BB and 1HP.
Has 11RBI in his last seven games.
As a Yankee (since 9/20/22), has hit .500/.478/.864 (11-for-22) with 2 doubles, 2HR, 18RBI and 1SF with RISP.
Has already hit 3HR in nine games this season after hitting 5HR in 86 games in 2022.
LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu owns a season-high 10-game on-base streak (since 4/30)…marks his longest on-base streak since an 11-game streak from 7/27-8/8/22…is batting .306/.390/.500 (11-for-36) with 6R, 1 double, 2HR, 7RBI and 5BB in that span.
Has hit .357/.441/.464 (10-for-28) with 3 doubles, 11RBI,5BB and 1SF with RISP this season.
Has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.
BRONX BOMBERS: Over their last five games, 23 of their 44H have been extra-base hits (9 doubles, 3 triples, 11HR).
Have hit 37HR in 23 games at home this year, the second-most HR by a team at home this season.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP GERRIT COLE (5-0, 2.09 ERA)
RHP Gerrit Cole will make his ninth start of the season tonight vs. Tampa Bay…the 32-year-old will pitch on regular four days’ rest…did not record a decision on Sunday at Tampa Bay after allowing a season-high 6R/5ER (5.0IP, 8H, 2BB, 6K, 2HR)…is 5-0 with a 2.09 ERA (51.2IP, 12ER) and 58K in eight starts this season…his 2.09 ERA is the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee through his first eight starts of a season in the last 20 years (since 2004), trailing his own 1.37 ERA in 2021 and Nestor Cortes’ 1.80 ERA in 2022…in his third year with the Yankees in 2022, went 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA (200.2IP, 154H, 81R/78ER, 50BB, 257K, 33HR) in 33 regular season starts…his Major League-leading 257K last season were the most by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in franchise history, surpassing Ron Guidry’s previous record of 248K in 1978…the five-time All-Star (2015, ’18-19, ’21-22) has finished in the top-five of Cy Young Award voting five times (second in 2021, fourth in 2020, second in 2019, fifth in 2018, fourth in 2015)…his career 10.51 K/9.0IP ratio (1,988K/1,701.2IP) is the eighth-highest in Major League history (min. 1,000.0IP)…in 83 starts with the Yankees, is 41-19 with a 3.16 ERA (506.2IP, 178ER) and 652K…since 2018, leads the Majors in wins (76), strikeouts (1,254) and K/9.0IP (12.28), ranks second in innings pitched (919.1), third in opponents’ BA (.203) and WAR among pitchers (24.9 – FanGraphs), fourth in winning percentage (.724, 76-29, min. 60 decisions) and WHIP (1.00) and fifth in K/BB (5.31) and ERA (2.95)…was originally selected by the Yankees in the first round (28th overall) of the 2008 MLB FirstYear Player Draft but did not sign and went on to play at UCLA for three seasons (2009-11)…was the first overall pick of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, the 15th pitcher (and 11th right-hander) to be chosen first…is the fifth player selected first overall to play for the Yankees, joining Alex Rodriguez, Darryl Strawberry, Tim Foli and Ron Blomberg…signed a nine-year contract extending through the 2028 season with a player opt-out following the 2024 season on 12/18/19.
LAST START: Did not record a decision in the Yankees’ 8-7 extra-inning loss on Sunday at Tampa Bay after allowing a season-high 6R/5ER (5.0IP, H, 2BB, 6K, 2HR)…his 8H were also a season high…had allowed just 7R over his first seven starts of the season…allowed 2HR after not allowing a HR in his first seven starts…allowed all 6R in the fifth and sixth innings.
MILESTONE MAN: Has 1,988 career strikeouts in 275 career games and needs 12K to reach 2,000 career strikeouts…Randy Johnson (262G), Clayton Kershaw (277G), Max Scherzer (287G) and Nolan Ryan (287G) are the only four players in Major League history to record 2,000 career strikeouts in 290 games-or-fewer.
2023: Is 5-0 with a 2.09 ERA (51.2IP, 12ER) and 58K in eight starts this season…his 2.09 ERA is the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee through his first eight starts of a season in the last 20 years (since 2004), trailing his own 1.37 ERA in 2021 and Nestor Cortes’ 1.80 ERA in 2022.
Is tied for fourth in the Majors in wins (five, tied for second in AL) and innings pitched (51.2, tied for third in AL), ranks fifth in HR/9.0IP (0.35, fourth in AL), is tied for sixth in strikeouts (58, tied for fourth in AL), seventh in ERA (2.09, fourth in AL) and opponents’ SLG (.284, fourth in AL), ninth in opponents’ OPS (.551, fifth in AL) and 10th in opponents’ BA (.197, seventh in AL)…according to FanGraphs, his 1.7 WAR is the fourth-highest among Major League pitchers.
Has allowed 2R-or-fewer in seven of his first eight starts and 1R-or-fewer in four of his starts…three of his eight starts this season have been scoreless.
Has recorded at least 8K in five of his eight starts this season.
His 6R/5ER on Sunday snapped his seven-start streak of tossing at least 5.0IP and allowing 2R-or-fewer…was just the second Yankees pitcher in franchise history to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 2R-or-fewer in each of his first seven starts of a season, joining Hideki Irabu (first seven in 1998).
Allowed 2HR in his last start after not allowing a HR in his first seven starts of the season…his seven-start homerless streak was the third-longest of his career (10G from 5/26- 8/13/16 and 8G from 7/9-8/20/18)…his 0.35 HR/9.0IP ratio is the fifth-lowest in the Majors.
Has received 3R-or-fewer of support in six of his eight starts.
Tossed his fourth career shutout on 4/16 vs. Minnesota (9.0IP, 2H, 1BB, 10K)…marked his seventh career complete game (first since 7/17/21 vs. Boston–6.0IP) and his fourth career nine-inning complete game…was just the third Yankee (fourth time) in the last 22 years (since 2002) to throw a nine-inning shutout and allow three-or-fewer baserunners, joining Corey Kluber (1BB in his no-hitter on 5/19/21 at Texas) and Masahiro Tanaka (2H and 1BB on 6/17/19 vs. Tampa Bay and 3H on 4/27/17 at Boston).
BLANK SPACE: Posted a career-high 25.2 scoreless inning streak from 4/11-27…was the second-longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starting pitcher in the last 63 years (since 1961), trailing only Catfish Hunter’s 26.0 scoreless inning streak from 8/30- 9/11/75…also posted a season-opening 12.0 scoreless inning streak (3/30-4/5).
WINNING WAYS: Has won five of his first eight starts this season…is one of four pitchers to go 5-0-or-better this year… joins Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (7-0), Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (6-0) and Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (5-0).
The Yankees are 7-1 in his starts this season…is one of three starting pitchers this season to have his team win at least seven of his starts…joins Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (club is 8-0 in 8GS) and Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (club is 7-0 in 7GS).
Has not left a game this season with the Yankees trailing.
IN PINSTRIPES: In 83 starts with the Yankees (since 2020), is 41-19 with a 3.16 ERA (506.2IP, 178ER) and 652K…has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in 64-of-83 starts…has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 55 starts as a Yankee, the second-most such starts in the AL and tied for the fourth-most such starts in the Majors in that stretch…has recorded 17 scoreless starts as a Yankee, the most scoreless starts by any AL pitcher in that span.
His 41 wins since 2020 are the most in the AL and the second-most in the Majors over that stretch, trailing only Julio Urías (44-13).
His 652K since 2020 are the most in the Majors…his 11.58 K/9.0IP ratio in that span is the best in the Majors (min. 400.0IP)…has finished in the top-five of Cy Young Award voting in two of his first three seasons in pinstripes (second in 2021, fourth in 2020).
His 23 double-digit strikeout games as a Yankee are tied with Ron Guidry for the most in franchise history.
KING OF THE HILL: Since 2018, leads the Majors in wins (76), strikeouts (1,254) and K/9.0IP (12.28), ranks second in innings pitched (919.1), third in opponents’ BA (.203) and WAR among pitchers (24.9 – FanGraphs), fourth in winning percentage (.724, 76-29, min. 60 decisions) and WHIP (1.00) and fifth in K/BB (5.31) and ERA (2.95).
Has recorded 16 scoreless starts of at least 5.0 innings since 2021, tied for the most in the Majors in that span.
VS. TAMPA BAY: Will be making his second straight start vs. the Rays…is 2-7 with a 3.80 ERA (97.0IP, 41ER) and 144K in 16 career regular season starts vs. the Rays…has received 2R-or-fewer of support in 12 of his 16 starts against Tampa Bay…as a Yankee, is 2-5 with a 3.91 ERA (71.1IP, 31ER) and 107K in 12 regular season starts vs. the Rays.
Has recorded double-digit strikeouts in nine of his last 14 starts vs. Tampa Bay (since 3/29/19)…his career 13.36 K/9.0IP ratio vs. the Rays is the second-highest by any pitcher vs. Tampa Bay (min. 50.0IP), trailing only Matt Barnes (14.03).
Is 1-4 with a 3.60 ERA (35.0IP, 14ER) in six career starts vs. the Rays at Yankee Stadium…has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in four of those six starts.
Faced the Rays in his last start and allowed a season-high 6R/5ER in a no-decision (5.0IP, 8H, 2BB, 6K, 2HR).
Went 1-1 with a 1.07 ERA (25.1IP, 3ER) and 35K in four starts vs. the Rays in 2022…tossed at least 6.0IP and allowed 1R-or-fewer in each of those four starts.
STRIKEOUT MACHINE: Has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 44 games since the start of 2019, marking the most in the Majors over the span (next: Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom with 28)…his 52 games with at least 10K since the beginning of 2018 are also the most in the Majors in that span (next: Max Scherzer-46).
Is tied for fourth in the AL and tied for sixth in the Majors in strikeouts…has recorded at least 8K in five of his eight starts this season…is one of just four pitchers in the Majors to record at least 8K in five games, joining Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (seven), Minnesota’s Pablo López and Los Angeles-AL’s Shohei Ohtani (five).
Has posted a 10.10 K/9.0IP ratio (58K/51.2IP).
HOME SWEET HOME: Is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA (33.0IP, 3ER) and 41K in five home starts this season…as a Yankee, has gone 18-10 with a 2.69 ERA (254.0IP, 76ER) and 331K in 41 starts at Yankee Stadium…has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 30 of those 41 starts… his 2.69 ERA at home since 2020 is the lowest in the AL and fifth-lowest in the Majors in that stretch (min. 200.0IP).
