The Pinstriped Baseball Lane

I don’t care if this is a pandemic season or not, Aaron Judge is my MVP pick for 2020. For a guy who was plague with a rib injury has not missed a beat in this 60-game sprint.

As his manager, Aaron Boone puts it, Judge “is on a mission” and I have no doubt about that.

After not hitting a home run in the first three games of the season, Judge has been averaging one homer per game over his last seven. With the Yankees trailing 11-4 in the seventh, Judge got the Yankees back in the game with a three-run shot to left field. It would seem that every time the Yanks get into trouble on the scoring front, their “Pinstriped Judge” would get them right back into the game by either tying the score or put the Bronx club in front of the opposition.

If there were fans in the stands at the ballparks that the New York Yankees play at, there would be a lot of “ALL RISE” moments to start the season. Unfortunately, the coronavirus prevents fans from being at the ballpark to witness the paramount shots by the “Pinstriped Judge“, but if you are like me, then you’re jumping off your couch as Judge connects with the baseball that leads to astonishing shots that for the most part end up out of the grasp of the defense.

Even though the right-handed slugger believes that he is not yet in his full form in the batter’s box, I believe he is pretty close to where he needs and wants to be. Honestly, I believe he is on a journey to the Hall of Fame.

This season has been nothing short of unorthodox, but the New York Yankees are certainly making the best of it. As of right now, the Yanks are sitting atop the AL East with a 8-1 record.

Even though this year is unlike any other, the Yanks have not missed a beat, as they have picked up right where they left off on the offensive front.

To be honest, I was worried the Yankees would have struggled coming out of the gate when the 2020 baseball gates opened, but that nerve wrecking feeling is no longer at the front of mind. The Bronx baseball squad is notoriously known for using the long ball as their weapon of choice and even in this shorten season, they are certainly staying consistent with hammering the baseball to all parts of the field.

It has been something close to about two weeks and the Yankees are enjoying a healthy diet of wins since the 2020 season began. Speaking of “hammering the ball”, the Yankee squad and Aaron Boone have been fortunate enough to be witnesses to Grand Slams, Major League Debuts, and Aaron Judge’s homers. Also, we definitely can’t forget that the Yanks have wreaked havoc against the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox to get to the 8-1 record that current hold.

With that being said, the 2020 Yankees are now in possession of the best start in the team’s history.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Yankees,8-3-2020, Free MLB Picks And Predictions

Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) @NewYork Yankees (7-1)

MLB Baseball: Monday, August 3,2020 @ 7:05 PM (Yankee Stadium)

The New York Yankees made sure they started their home stand with a sweep against their American League East rivals. Everybody knows that the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the most fierce competition in all of the sports’ world and it definitely showed in this three game series. The Yanks absolutely dominated the 1st two games, but the finale had that classic “We Won’t Back Down That Easy” sort of mentality.

It was a night filled with so much offensive power that poured out both dugouts at Yankee Stadium.

There is only one way for me to describe every inning of last night’s competition between the two rivals. The best way for me to put it is, “It was simply a slug fest”. Every time one side scored, the other side countered with their own set of run production.

There was a lot of offense, but the story of last night featured Aaron Judge’s name. This season has been great so far the Yankees’ right fielder and the end of last night’s match, he made another major mark on his career. It would seem that since this season started, every time his team gets into trouble, Judge would just come to the plate and either tie the game or get the Yanks right back in the lead.

His manager, Aaron Boone, spoke about the right-handed power slugger’s mindset yesterday. Boone believes, if he is “on a mission”, then that should be terrifying news for any opposing pitchers. As a Yankee fan and a definite Judge fan, I felt like I was in a dream yesterday. Obviously, I knew it was not a dream, because it was a fortunate reality for the Yanks. When I saw that blast by Judge and realized that he extended his career-best streak by homering in a fifth consecutive game, I just knew it had to be real. Then, he added a go-ahead blast in the eighth inning, powering his team to a 9-7 victory over the Red Sox in a Sunday matinee. I mean this is what everyone was hoping for, a hot bat held by a healthy Judge and and a dominating Stanton. It is just so amazing to see the production poring out from different parts of the lineup.

To that very point in the last sentence of the previous paragraph, Bryan Hoch reported that, “No big league team owns more wins than the Yankees, who have won six straight games and boast a 7-1 record that equals the best eight-game start in franchise history.”

“We’re clicking on all cylinders right now,” Judge said. “Our offense is feeding off of each other, our bullpen’s doing their job. We’re just having fun out there. I think a lot of us are glad to be having some baseball and to be back out on the field…”

I am glad baseball is back too and I am glad you’re back on the field Mr. Judge.

This lineup is one of the most special things that a baseball organization could ask for. Yes, Judge has delivered heavy blows since the season began, but besides his production, the Yankees are in a good spot because the guys above him are putting him in the position to capitalize. This team has a “pass-the-baton” type of attitude and you got to love that about them.

A perfect example of that attitude was shown in last night’s victory over the Sox.

The Red Sox were ahead by a run heading to the eighth inning, their attack powered by Xander Bogaerts’ two-homer performance and claiming the lead on Rafael Devers’ seventh-inning homer, and I am sure some of us thought, “Oh boy, we are in trouble”, while others were enjoying a classic Yankee-Red Sox showdown. The Yankee lineup didn’t stay quiet, they stepped up and struck the baseball. DJ LeMahieu, the leadoff hitter, delivered a key at-bat with a run-scoring single off Barnes.

After LeMahieu took his base, Mike Tauchman wasted no time to worked a two-out walk and stole second base. LeMahieu lashed Barnes’ 2-2 fastball into right field, allowing Tauchman to steal home, who had entered the game in the seventh for defense.

“Tauch did a great job of getting on and stealing a base,” LeMahieu said. “Once he stole that base, I had a little extra focus there. Barnes, he’s a good pitcher. Fortunately, he left me a pitch I could handle a little bit.”

It great that Yanks are feeling confident about playing their best baseball.

LeMahieu, a.k.a “The Machine”, set up Judge’s homer one batter later, as Barnes fell behind in a 2-0 count and spun a knuckle-curveball over the middle of the plate.

It just goes to show that if you make a mistake with this Yankee offense, you will severely be punished for it.

In a shortened season, pitchers don’t want to have the worries of making a mistake against the Judges in the game. If pitchers aren’t careful, a guy like Judge can send you back to the drawing board

“He’s been all over everything,” Barnes said. “He’s pretty locked in right now. It seems like he’s been handling the high heater pretty well recently. You certainly can’t put a hanging breaking ball middle up and in on him.”

Speaking of drawing boards and pitchers who need to go back to them, James Paxton needs to work out of his funk soon. Paxton is lucky that his offense is on a roll right now, because for the second straight start, he has struggled to curve of the strike zone with swing-and-misses.

The left-hander permitted five runs (three earned) over three innings, knocked for seven hits in a 62-pitch effort. Just like in Tanaka’s start, Boone had to call on his bullpen early. We are aware that Pax is returning back to his original form, as he had back surgery in February, but it is a bit concerning that The Big Maple’s fastball averaged 91.5 mph and maxed at 92.9 mph, that is down from his 2019 average of 95.4 mph.

According to Paxton, he said, “I am concerned, I’m trying to do everything I can to figure out what’s going on. I don’t know if it’s just going to take some time to build it back up, but I’ll get back at looking at the video [Monday] — try and make some more tweaks and just figure out what I can do.”

I just hope that we can get both Paxton and Tanaka back on track before we reach postseason competition.

It is unfortunate that Paxton can’t find a way to be efficient for now, but on the bright side Michael King picked up his starter by holding the Sox to 3 2/3 innings. Then Boone turned it over Adam Ottavino, or “Ottabot”, as I like to call him. Ottavino picked up the W by tossing four outs in relief and Zack Britton closed it out with  a perfect ninth inning for his third save.

All and all, the back end of the pitching staff was yet again the highlight of the Yankee bullpen.

Boone told the media after the game, “It was a good job by the ‘pen, coming in to hold them down enough.” The Yankee manager noted that he thought King was good. He added, “There were a lot of good things that happened tonight, with people contributing to a big win.”

With the “big win” as Boone put it, the Yankee club will look to continue on a roll. This evening, the Yankees will host the Philadelphia Phillies and will look to keep their winning ways going.

As the Phillies didn’t test positive in Sunday’s round of coronavirus testing, they will resume their season as they will head to Yankee Stadium to part take in a Monday night competition.

The Phillies will travel to New York and play two games there against the Yankees before the teams travel to Philadelphia for two more games starting Wednesday.

On the hill for the visiting Phillies at the stadium, RHP Jake Arrieta will make his season debut and will go up against Yankee ace RHP Gerrit Cole.

Just a brief reminder, the Phillies originally were slated to play the Marlins in a three-game series beginning Tuesday in Miami, but that series will be rescheduled. With that being said, you should note that the Phils have not played a game since Aug. 26 against the Marlins.

What more can I say than, that scenario explains how unorthodox this season has been.

Pitching Breakdown

As Arrieta will take the mound in Yankee Stadium for the Phillies, he will be looking to rebound from an injury. He missed the last half of the 2019 season due to bone spurs in his elbow. Take note, he did pitch with the spurs through the first half, I just wonder if overwork the arm may have cause more harm than he needed to endure. I guess we will have trust what he said about how he is feeling. According to Phillies’ righty, he said that he is feeling fine and ready to have a strong season in the final year of his contract.

On the opposing side, the home team will counter Arrieta with their ace. Cole will be aiming to collect his third victory in pinstripes, as he is coming off a 6 2/3 innings of work that he pitch on Wednesday against the Orioles. The Yankees ace stroke out 12 against three walks 11 2/3 innings. He is 4 and 3 with an ERA of 3.38 in seven career starts versus the Phils

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, 8-2-2020, Free MLB Picks And Predictions

Boston Red Sox (3-6) @ New York Yankees (6-1)

MLB Baseball: Sunday, 8-2-2020 @ 7:07 PM (Yankee Stadium)

Austin Brice (RHP, 0-0, 7.71 ERA, 5Ks) vs. James Paxton (LHP,0-1, 27.00 ERA, 1K)

I could get use to this winning roll that the New York Yankees are on. Last night, the Yanks captured their 5th straight win of the 2020 and it had some significance the club’s history.

The Yanks are continuing to lean on the long ball, powering their best start to a season since 2003. The Saturday night win was yet again aided by a Aaron Judge homer. He was not the only one to connect via the homer for a career-high fourth consecutive game, Gio Urshela launched his first career grand slam as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 5-2. The Saturday evening at Yankee Stadium was jam packed with highlight reel shots by the Bronx Bombers.

Judge cracked a 455-foot, first-inning blast to the left-field bleachers and Urshela cleared the bases an inning later, depositing a drive onto the netting that covers Monument Park. Both blasts came off right-hander Zack Godley, that built a healthy cushion as the Yanks rolled to their fifth straight win and sixth victory in seven games.

Bryan Hoch reported that Gio Urshela said, “That was my first grand slam of my career, I was so excited and so happy to get those four runs for the team….” Urshela also stated that he was, “….very, very happy to be back this year with the Yankees. I’m trying to do better this year, trying to keep that confidence when I’m playing.”

As it was another “Judgement Day” in the Bronx for the Yankees, the pinstriped right fielder became the first Yankee to homer in four straight games since Cameron Maybin, who accomplished the feat last June. Each of the Yankees’ last 17 runs have come via the long ball, and the Bombers have gone deep in each of their first seven games of a season for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since 2001.

All I could, the Yanks are surely making this shorten season work for them. As the team will try to go all the way this season, I just hope the season remains in their season, and Yankee fans can once again see their ballclub hoist a World Series trophy.

If I had to explain this club to someone who doesn’t know baseball, I don’t think I could do better than Mike Tauchman. The Yankees outfielder said it best by stating, “We have a lot of guys that hit a lot of home runs. When we’re at our best, we’re driving in runs, we’re running the bases well, we’re using the whole field….” He also stated that, “…I think when you’re consistently putting pressure on the opposing team’s pitchers, you’re going to get pitches to hit out.” Everything he said was right, and you better believe it because he had his own three hit night that contributed to the Yankee victory over the Red Sox.

Well, the Yanks have always been known for their offensive power and back end of their bullpen, but we have seen their starting rotation hit bumps in the road.

Masahiro Tanaka, who was tabbed with the start in the Saturday night brawl with the Sox said before the game that he felt “excited” to be back on the mound. Reasonable so, I could understand his excitement, due to the fact that he sustained a concussion back on July 4th that came off of Stanton’s bat. I was real glad to see him back on a major league mound, but he didn’t perform the way that I expected him to.

Aaron Boone held Masa to a 51 pitch count to build up his stamina, and well he didn’t progress from the 2019 troubles he had against the Sox.

The right-hander permitted two runs (one earned) and four hits over 2 2/3 innings. Boston broke through against Tanaka in the third inning, as Xander Bogaerts doubled home a run and another run scored on Gleyber Torres’ third error of the season.

If you area die-hard Yankee fan like me, it was not a pretty sight to see, even if you’re watch it on T.V. It was especially hard to watch, because Yankee fans know how dominant Tanaka can be.

After the game, Tanaka spoke through an interpreter and said, ” It’s been since Spring Training where I’ve been in a competitive game, so I think there was some rust there…” As a fan, I respect his honesty and wish him the best going forward. he continued to tell the press that, “…I really didn’t have the pinpoint command that you want, but you know you go into the game with a plan. The plan was to…try to put more force onto the pitches, so in that sense, I think it worked out pretty well.”

As the Yankee manager, Boone said that he noticed that there was extra jump on Tanaka’s fastball, which averaged 92.9 mph and maxed out at 94.3 mph. Last season, Tanaka’s fastball averaged 91.5 mph.

Even though we all know that Tanaka didn’t have his best start on Saturday, Aaron Boone noted some positive aspect to his starter’s performance.

“That’s as good velocity as we’ve seen on his fastball in the last couple of years,” Boone said. “It’s something we noticed in his first bullpen when he was returning. I thought he threw a lot of good fastballs tonight and mixed his other pitches as well. It was another strong, important step for him.”

I hope we can regain Tanaka in his dominant form soon.

As a result of Tanaka poor start, we got to see the debut of Nick Nelson. Nelson had a strong start, as he and the bullpen combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The  Yankees No. 16 prospect became the first Yankee to pitch at least three hitless innings and earn a victory in his Major League debut. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out four — including Tzu-Wei Lin, the first batter he faced — and walked two in a 41-pitch appearance.

“It was really awesome being out there, especially wearing the pinstripes and making my debut at Yankee Stadium,” Nelson said. “As soon as the [bullpen] phone rings, I started getting more nervous. The waiting was killing me.”

“One of the things I’m so excited about is a lot of the young arms that are knocking on the door, and Nelson is one of those,” Boone said. “He was great tonight.”

Hale To Close It Out

Righthander David Hale recorded the last six outs to notch the third save of his Major League career, pitching around a pair of singles.  Hale’s appearance prompted questions about the availability of closer Zack Britton, who last pitched on Thursday against the Orioles.

Tonight’s Pitching

Paxton is aiming to rebound after he recorded only three outs in a 41-pitch game that he played in against the Nats on July 25th. Making his return from back surgery, he permitted three runs and five hits in that 9-2 loss.

On the opposition, Paxton will be countered by Austin Brice. The righty has made 110 Major League appearances, but this will be his first start as this will a bullpen game for the Sox.

Boston Red Sox (3-5) @New York Yankees (5-1)

MLB Baseball: Saturday. 8-1-2020 @7:07 PM (Yankee Stadium)

Zack Godley (RHP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7Ks) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (RHP, 0-0,- – -ERA)

LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!

Last night was the New York Yankees‘ stadium opener and they kicked it off against the Boston Red Sox. The Yanks got their season off to a hot start on the road, and in their first game back in the bright lights of NYC, they continued their winning ways as they notched a 5-1 victory over their AL East rivals.

Jordan Montgomery dominated and the Yankees hit three bombs to beat the Red Sox in the Friday night matinee. Monty must of felt great walking off the field after Boone made the call to the bullpen. In his first outing after Tommy John, Monty managed to pitch five and two-thirds innings of one-run ball. He allowed a home run in the second to Michael Chavis, and that was the only run the Boston Red Sox would score as Montgomery settled down and pitched another three scoreless innings. 

At 81 pitches manager, Boone took Monty out and replaced him with Chad Green, who pitched two scoreless innings. Adam Ottavino came in to close out the eighth inning, and Jonathan Holder pitched an imperfect ninth, but he didn’t allow a run.

At the bottom of the second inning, Gio Urshela, that went 2 for 4 last night, almost homered to the right-field wall, but it was prevented from going out by Jackie Bradley Jr. At the top of the third inning with DJ LeMahieu on first, Aaron Judge hit a big home run for the 2-1 Yankee lead, and the Yanks NEVER looked back.

After the Bronx Bombers took the 2-1 lead, it was like adding fuel to the flames because the hits just kept coming.

At the bottom of the fourth Gio Urshela, who almost homered in the second slammed a big solo homer off of Red Sox starter Ryan Weber ending his night for the Sox. On the New York Yankees part, Mongomery was in control for five and two-thirds innings giving up just the one run in the third inning.

It was all uphill for the Yanks on the offensive and defensive side. This Yankees home opener looked different than any one that preceded it, but the NYY bats looked straight outta 2019 against the Sox.

Brett Gardner, who went 0-13 finally had the breakdown he needed, as he finally got his 2020 season started on the offensive front. Gardy walked twice in the game, and in the bottom of the eighth inning, his bat came alive in a big way. Brett The Jet finally got the chance to throw a “Gardy Party“, as he homered to center. The shot was a no-doubter that gave the Yankees the 5-1 lead in the game. 

Talk about veteran patience, it was just a matter of time before the longest tenured Yankee got his pitch.

Jordan Montgomery got the win, and Ryan Weber took the loss. The Yankees are now 5-1 on the young season.  Aaron Judge is on a roll hitting a homer in each of his last three games.  It’s hard not to pitch to him because the Yankees lineup is a powerhouse throughout the lineup.

The Yankees meet the Red Sox again tomorrow at the Stadium, and all eyes will be on Judge to see if he can hit another homer, making four games in a row, which he has never done before.  Masahiro Tanaka, after being hit in the head a month ago, will start today’s game for the Yankees.

With the Yanks on a hot stretch, I have a good feeling about tonight’s game. Masa has recovered from a concussion that he sustained on July 4th, and the veteran pitcher will have to prove he is set for 2020 action. He struggled heavily in 2019 against Sox, permitting 22 earned runs in eight innings (24.75 ERA). This also included a disastrous London series start.

The reason for my good feeling is, even though Tanaka has to prove that he is prepared for 2020, he will be back by some of the game’s hottest bats. With that being said, I am locking in Aaron Boone’s squad as my choice for the win tonight.

Tanaka will be countered by Zack Godley. The Red Sox will send the righty to the mound in the Bronx as their opener. This will be Godley’s second appearance of 2020 and he will also have to prove his worth to his ballclub. The Boston righty joined the club on a Minor League deal in mid-July and compiled seven strikeouts over four innings of scoreless relief work against the Mets on July 27th.

Quick Side Note

As we saw in the Yankees’ opener yesterday, the offensive power on both sides of the aisle are stunning. So with that being said, today’s pitching matchup may or may not be a highlight of the evening.

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles, 7-31-2020, Free MLB Picks And Predictions

Boston Red Sox (2-4) @ New York Yankees (3-1)

MLB Baseball: Friday, July 31,2020 @7:05 PM (Yankees Stadium)

Ryan Weber (RHP,0-1,14.73 ERA) vs. Jordan Montgomery (LHP, 0-0, – – -ERA)

Well, if you weren’t following last night’s Yankees-Orioles game, then you missed history in the making. Everyone in the New York Yankees universe understand pretty clearly that the Yanks are alphas against the Baltimore Orioles, but it won’t last forever, and that is why the pinstriped organization is making the most of it.

While last night was a well fought match on both sides of the aisle, the Yanks broke out the heavy artillery to capture an 8-6 victory over the O’s. Both sides made sure they were ready offensively, but the Yankees always have the implement of surprise on their side. One through nine in their offense can cause damage, and all it took was a heavy blow of one of the big bats to win the ballgame.

Bryan Hoch put it best, when he reported, “It wasn’t too late to ‘All Rise’, and Aaron Judge ensured that their good times could carry on for a while longer…” Hoch reported in his article that, “…Judge launched a titanic three-run homer in the ninth inning, powering New York’s 8-6 victory over the Orioles. With the home opener on deck, the blast sent the Yanks to their buses celebrating an 18th consecutive victory over Baltimore, and their 17th straight win at Camden Yards.”

Talk about a game for the record books. Gosh, if I were on a team that always seem to rank low in the standings, I would not want to go up against a team that could make an impact at any given moment.

Judge said, “We’re never out of a game. With this offense that we have, guys that can get on base with power — it doesn’t matter if it’s a one-run lead, two-run lead, three-run lead. I think we’ve always got a shot going into every inning.”

The power drive off right-hander Cole Sulser by Judge came with Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu aboard. I believe that it was Judge’s third career go-ahead homer in the ninth inning or later. It came after Baltimore’s Pedro Severino hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Jonathan Loaisiga, with the right-hander in his third inning of relief following a rain delay of one hour and 34 minutes.

“We had a couple of big at-bats to finally get that big hit to finally break through,” said manager Aaron Boone, who added that right-hander Tommy Kahnle was not available, promising that the club would provide more details on Friday. “For guys to continue to grind on a rainy night, a long night, I’m proud of that effort that guys were able to stay locked in.”

Hoch also reported in detail that, ” Zack Britton struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save, recording his 500th punchout in the process. New York’s 18 consecutive victories over the O’s is the club’s third-longest winning streak versus a single opponent in franchise history, behind a 21-game streak vs. the St. Louis Browns in 1927 and a 19-game streak over the Athletics from 1938-39…” The Yankees’ beat report also reported that, the 17 straight wins at Camden Yards are a franchise record for a road winning streak.

Judge also told the media after the game that, “….It’s just a hitter-friendly park…” The Yankee right fielder made it a point by saying that, “…You saw that tonight, with the majority of the runs coming off home runs. They’ve got a short fence in left-center and right-center. If you get it up in the air, it’s going to have a pretty good chance of getting out…”

The right hand hitting outfielder made a good analyzation, especially in that last sentence above because he wasn’t the only Yankee to boost the ball out. Luke Voit connected for his first career grand slam in a five-run first inning, a drive off left-hander John Means that cleared the left-center-field fence. Giancarlo Stanton continue on the healthy trend, as he also notched a run-scoring single in the first inning, part of a three-hit performance. By the time Happ took the mound, the left-hander was staked with a decent enough lead.

In my opinion, Happ could have done better in his 2020 debut. The veteran starter struggled with the long ball last season, permitting a career-high 34 home runs, and the veteran worked with his mechanics this past winter in hopes of correcting the issue. After last night, Happ knows that there is still work to be done. Hanser Alberto cracked a two-run homer in the first inning and Rio Ruiz launched a two-run shot in the second off Happ. The Yankee starter only managed to completed four innings in his season debut. So in a sense, I guess it is back to the drawing board for Happ.

As a matter of fact, Happ critiqued himself after the game. He said that he believes it is, “a tale as old as baseball with pitchers; I was rushing a little bit, I was probably anxious after they got on the board early…” The veteran lefty said he thinks it is a fixable matter, explaining that he believes “…it would have helped me get in some better counts if I had stayed on that back leg a little bit. I’ll try to focus on that…” Hopefully, now that he sees his mistake, he could have better starts for us in every game.

My View

The way I see it, the Yankees start their year off on the right foot, and you should note that they did it on the road. Now, the Bronx squad will be back on their turf to start a homestand. As they are back in the Bronx, Boone and the Yankees will be keeping a close eye on their star studded shortstop.

Gleyber Torres exited Thursday’s game in the fourth inning. He was hit on the right elbow by a Means pitch in the first inning and remained in for one more at-bat, flying out to left field in the third inning. X-rays were negative, and Torres said that he hopes to play in the Yanks’ home opener on Friday against the Red Sox.

Torres is one of the hot bats in this Yankee lineup, and so far Torres seems fine after enduring the hit. “It’s sore a little bit,” Torres said. “It’s getting better and better now. During the game, I tried to stay in but I felt really tight. I couldn’t throw 100 percent. I didn’t want to make a mistake at shortstop.”

Let’s hope he can remain healthy at the shortstop position for the reminder of the year.

After shutting down the O’s, the Yankees are back home with a 4-1 record under their belts.

Hopefully if the weather holds up, the Yanks will be defending their turf against the Boston Red Sox. If there is a game today, it will feature a lefty-righty matchup. The Yankees will recall Jordan Montgomery for his season debut and Aaron Boone will pencil him in for today’s game..

Monty was a camp standout this spring and summer, as he will be making his comeback from Tommy John surgery. The lefty appeared in two big league game(one start) last year.

On the opposition, Monty will be countered by RHP Ryan Weber. The righty will make his second start of the season after he allowed six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings of work. Weber’s first start was back on July 26th against the Orioles. The righty has made three career appearances against the Yanks and they were all in the relief role. In those games, he posted an ERA of 2.84 over 6 1/3 innings.

As both starters for today’s game will try to stay on track, the Yankees-Red Sox series should be an interesting one. I know I will be keeping an eye on how the Yanks do because they will be hosting the Sox in their Yankee Stadium opener.