ARLINGTON, Texas — The New York Yankees come to Arlington again with Aaron Judge and history is a part of the storyline. Judge won’t break the American League home run record that he set two seasons ago around this time at Globe Life Field, but he can definitely inch closer to a new AL record over the course of this three-game series.
The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, will try to dig out of the purgatory of 3rd place in the AL West, while trying to mess with New York’s tenuous lead in the AL East, but their beleaguered offense is going to be facing some stiff pitching as they continue their second to last homestand of the 2024 season.
New York Yankees (79-58, 1st Place AL East, +0.5 G) @ Texas Rangers (65-72, 3rd Place AL West, 10.0 GB)
New York down the stretch
For much of the season, the Yankees have been in a back-and-forth struggle with the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in the American League East. The reigning division champion Orioles have been strong throughout the entire year, but the division lead has changed hands multiple times throughout the summer where the difference between a top seed and a Wild Card berth looks like it will come down to the last few weeks of the season.
New York has held first place since August 21, but never by more than two games. They’ve stayed atop the division via the strength of their very powerful lineup, a lineup which leads all of baseball in home runs, leads the American League in on-base percentage, and is right up there with the Orioles in slugging.
Pitching-wise, the Yankees have been on a rollercoaster ride. Currently, including the just-concluded series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York rotation is on a downward slope. Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, and Gerrit Cole are all coming off of less-than-ideal starts and the Yankees lost each of those games.
After the All-Star break, the Yankees pitching staff as a whole sits in the bottom third of baseball. The Yankees’ offense, though, has been known to outslug their competition by a wide margin to give the arms some breathing room.
As rosters expanded, the Yankees added three players – two bullpen arms and a late-inning outfielder. They also brought back Anthony Rizzo from the injured list. Rizzo had been on the 60-day IL with a broken arm since mid-June. The production, while not necessarily needed for the Yankees, was a welcome sight for the Bronx Bombers, as the first baseman went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in his return.
The Yankees, ever a team with high expectations, have a lot on the line, not just from a franchise standpoint, but from a personal goals perspective too. With Rizzo back in the fold, New York has a full lineup and every regular player is slugging over .350.
The stretch run might be a matter of whether the Yankees can get their pitching straightened out, especially the starters. With the Orioles playing the moribund Chicago White Sox over the next three games, New York will be fighting to leave Texas the same way that they’re entering – in first place.
The matchups
Game 138, 7:05 p.m. CT - RHP Gerrit Cole (5-3, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Leiter (0-1, 12.83 ERA)
Game 139, 7:05 p.m. CT - LHP Carlos Rodon (14-9, 4.31 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Heaney (4-13, 3.95 ERA)
Game 140, 7:05 p.m. CT - RHP Marcus Stroman (10-6, 3.81 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-7, 3.60 ERA)
New York starts the series with their ace and 2023 AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole. Coming off a start against the Washington Nationals in which he gave up three runs on six hits in five innings, both the Yankees and Cole are looking for a bit more efficiency.
Against Texas a few weeks ago, Cole gave up just one run in 5 ⅓ innings. Between those starts, Cole had two scoreless starts in a row, shutting the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians out over 12 innings of work.
Next up for Tuesday night will be the lefty Carlos Rodon, also coming off a rough start against the Nationals. He gave up five runs over 5 ⅔ innings; last time against Texas in July, Rodon was able to take advantage of the Rangers’ difficulty with hitting lefties and shut them out on just three hits over 5 ⅔ innings.
Wrapping up the night game finale on Wednesday is the usually electric Marcus Stroman. Outside of a terrible start against the Blue Jays to start August, Stroman has pitched quite well in his last four outings, putting up a cumulative 2.35 ERA over 23 innings of work.
The Rangers are expected to let Jack Leiter take another crack at the big leagues to begin the series against the Yankees.
In his last outing, against the White Sox, Leiter labored in the first inning of his return to the Majors but settled in the complete four innings, ultimately allowing just two runs in an eventual Rangers win. Following that shaky first inning, Leiter pitched into the fifth inning trying to qualify for the victory but was relieved when he allowed the first two Chicago batters to reach base.
Texas will counter Rodon with a lefty of their own in Andrew Heaney. Heaney, who has stayed healthy for the Rangers all season, is looking for just his fifth win of the year, although he has pitched a far sight better than his 13 losses.
In his last two outings, Heaney has pitched well enough to earn a win, but the Rangers’ offense did not come through, a familiar refrain in 2024. Heaney did take a loss against the Yankees in July, however, giving up four runs in 4 ⅔ innings, but again, Texas did not score while he was in the game.
The Rangers will conclude the series on Wednesday with Nathan Eovaldi, who dominated the White Sox last time out. The World Series-clinching righty gave up just one hit and struck out seven over seven shutout innings. Eovaldi did get roughed up against his old team from New York the last time they met, giving up three runs in three innings, struggling through an inefficient 81 pitches.
Texas might be able to gain ground in this series against the Yankees, but more importantly to New York, the Rangers have a chance to play spoiler with Baltimore able to feast on the White Sox, which very well could be a sweep. The Rangers don’t need style points wins now, if they can make contenders look ugly.
Do you think the Rangers can make it three series wins in a row after facing New York? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
