T-minus 13 days to Opening Day 2019. The Yankees have 12 exhibition games between now and then and, in theory, six position battles to decide: first base, fourth starter, fifth starter, seventh and eighth relievers, and the final bench spot. My guess is the Yankees have already chosen winners for no fewer than five of those position battles, with maybe only the final bullpen spot still up for grabs.
Domingo German will make his latest case for an Opening Day rotation spot this afternoon. He’s had a good Spring Training overall (7.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K) and has caught the eye of at least one scout, so he’s put himself in position to break camp with the team. Also, Troy Tulowitzki is playing back-to-back days for the first time this spring today. He played yesterday and is back in there today. Hopefully he makes it out in one piece. Here is the Red Sox’s lineup and here are the players the Yankees will use today:
- CF Brett Gardner
- RF Aaron Judge
- LF Giancarlo Stanton
- 1B Luke Voit
- 3B Miguel Andujar
- C Gary Sanchez
- DH Greg Bird
- SS Troy Tulowitzki
- 2B DJ LeMahieu
RHP Domingo German
Available Position Players: C Francisco Diaz, C Ryan Lavarnway, C Jorge Saez, 1B Chris Gittens, IF Diego Castillo, IF Kyle Holder, IF Gio Urshela, OF Trey Amburgey, OF Billy Burns, OF Rashad Crawford, OF Estevan Florial, OF Matt Lipka, UTIL Tyler Wade. Gittens, Castillo, and Crawford are up from minor league camp for the day.
Available Pitchers: RHP Braden Bristo, LHP Aroldis Chapman, LHP Phil Diehl, RHP Rony Garcia, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Adam Ottavino, LHP Stephen Tarpley, RHP Greg Weissert. Bristo, Garcia, and Weissert are extra arms from minor league camp.
It is warm and sunny in Tampa this afternoon. Temperatures in the mid-80s with a nice breeze. Great day for a ballgame. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on YES, MLB.tv, and MLB Network out of market. There are no Spring Training blackouts on MLB.tv but the game will be blacked out on MLB Network in the Yankees’ and Red Sox’s home markets. Enjoy the game.