Yankees vs. Rays: American League East Showdown

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays square off in the second game of a 2 game series in the Bronx. Tampa Bay has the leagues best record at 28-11. They have been doing it with both solid pitching and timely hitting.

Evan Longoria leads the team in almost ever offensive category. His .318 batting average, 32 runs, 35 RBI’s and 9 homeruns are ranked in the top 10 in the American league. Carl Crawford isn’t far behind with a .313 average. He has 10 stolen bases which is second on the team behind B.J. Upton’s 11. Tampa can beat you offensively in 2 ways. They can manufacture runs with base hits and stolen bases, or they can simply hit the long ball. The Devil Rays have scored 207 runs thus far which is currently 5th in MLB, but the reason for their success has been their pitching staff.

David Price, Matt Garza, Joe Niemann, James Shields and Wade Davis are a combined 21-6 as of May 19th. They have eaten up innings, and kept the bullpen fresh and pressure free. The worst ERA of the bunch is Davis with a 3.38. Price has a minuscule 1.81 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP. Garza and Niemann have pitched liked #1’s thus far, but will need to keep it going if the Rays intend to hold off the Yankees for the American League East title.

New York has had a tremendous start considering they are somewhat banged up. They are currently 3 games behind Tampa Bay, and 5.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. Early MLB picks had the Yankees as the odds on favorites in the East. It is still far too early in the season to make any long term baseball predictions, but the Rays are starting to look like the real deal.

Mark Texiera has had a horrible start to the season. He was under .200 for most of the season, but has had a solid last few weeks to get him up over the .225 mark. Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up, and Robinson Cano has been an absolute monster thus far. Derek Jeter is holding his own despite being in a horrible slump lately.

This may not seem like a big game, but it’s series like this that can propel a team to a division title. Tune in Thursday night as James Shield faces a youthful looking Andy Pettitte and his 5-0 record.

Related posts:

1. Tampa Bay Rays are Slipping in the American League East
2. Rays and Yankees in A.L. East Showdown
3. Yankees looking for American League East Title
4. American League East is Up for Grabs
5. A.L. East Division Title Battle: Yankees vs. Rays

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