Yankees Look To Reclaim Division

The American League East is one of the tightest races in the entire MLB. Both the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees are only 1.5 games behind the division leading Toronto Blue Jays. Even the Boston Red Sox are still in the mix, only five games behind with a lot of baseball left to play.

The Yankees are making progress in taking back the division they have traditionally dominated. They swept the Blue Jays last week at home and now the Blue Jays will get a chance to host New York. If the Yankees can win the three-game series they will likely sit atop the AL East by week’s end.

Both pitchers in the start of the series have seen some seriously playing time against each other.

Chase Whitley will be on the mound for New York. In his last outing, he held the Blue Jays to just two runs over five innings. He throw a career high 95 pitches in that game, however and will be looking to improve upon that performance. Despite picking up the win, it was not one of Whitley’s better outings. He allowed five hits and a walk during the game. Overall, Whitley is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.56.

Marcus Stroman will be throwing the ball for the Blue Jays. He is also familiar with the Yankees, as he started Tuesday to close the first series with the Yanks.

Stroman had one of the worst starts of his career in that game. He allowed only two runs but was pulled after the fourth inning after New York began consistently finding the ball even if it was on fouls. He threw 98 pitches in just four innings as the Yankees remained patient until Stroman was pulled.

Stroman is still a relative new comer to the majors. He has a 5.14 ERA and will be looking to prove something in his next outing against the Yankees.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays are the favorites to win with a moneyline set at –126. The Yankees moneyline is set at +116.