If the Tampa Bay Rays have any hope of reaching the playoffs this season, their next two games are critical as they’ll face the New York Yankees in a brief two game, returning home after the longest road trip in franchise history since 2005.
The Rays took three of the four series out west, but were swept by the Seattle Mariners for their lone series which meant that they were an even .500 over the 12-game span. Thus, their record is 61-64, 6.5 games back in the Wild Card chase; all three Wild Card teams are currently tied in the standings.
The Yankees hold one of those Wild Card spots with a 67-57 record and have snapped out of a prolonged slump with a sweep of the St Louis Cardinals over the weekend.
Aaron Judge is currently on the active roster for the Yankees, but the future Hall of Famer is dealing with a shoulder issue that is preventing him from playing the outfield. However, he is still an offensive force and is hitting .229/.426/.429 with 2 HR, registering a 140 wRC+ since being activated from the IL on August 5th.
Overall this season, Judge is hitting .333/.447/.687 with 39 HR, registering a 200 wRC+ and accruing 7.4 fWAR over 114 games. Meanwhile Cody Bellinger is proving to be one of the best offseason acquisitions in the game as he has a 120 wRC+ and has accrued 3.3 fWAR, with Jazz Chisholm Jr nearly replicating his wRC+ and fWAR. Trent Grisham, Austin Wells, and Ben Rice have all been integral parts of the Yankees.
On the mound, Max Fried’s early season run of dominance has ended and he has struggled over his past several outings; his overall numbers are still quite dazzling. Carlos Rodon, Will Warren, and Clarke Schmidt have filled out the rest of the rotation with solid numbers. The bullpen was revamped at the trade deadline with the Yankees adding David Bednar and Camilo Doval
Probable pitchers are projected by MLB
Tuesday, August 19th7:35 pm EDT
RHP Shane Baz vs LHP Carlos Rodon
Wednesday, August 20th7:35 pm EDT
RHP Drew Rasmussen vs RHP Cam Schlittler
