Where & When To Watch
Tonight: Coverage of Game 1 begins at 6 p.m. on YES and the YES App.
Wednesday: Coverage of Game 2 begins at 6 p.m. on YES and the YES App.
Thursday: Coverage of Game 3 begins at 6 p.m. on YES and the YES App.
Leading Off
After a 7-3 road trip, tonight the Yankees open a six-game homestand with the first of three against the Tigers, who they just saw in Detroit. In addition to being the first home games for Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells, this series also marks the final trip to the Bronx for the Tigers’ retiring legend Miguel Cabrera. The 75th Old-Timers’ Day celebration will take place prior to Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, with coverage on YES and the YES App beginning at 11:30 a.m.
How ‘Bout That
What a start for Domínguez! The Martian made history in multiple ways over the weekend during the first series of his MLB career. With his drive off Justin Verlander on Friday, he became just the second player in MLB history to homer in their first career at-bat and to do so off a reigning Cy Young Award winner. The other also accomplished the feat with the Yankees: Marcus Thames. He did so on June 10, 2002, when he homered off Randy Johnson, who went on to win his fourth consecutive National League Cy Young Award later that year. On Sunday when Domínguez took Cristian Javier deep, he became only the fourth player in Yankees history to have multiple home runs within their first three MLB games, joining his teammate Aaron Judge (2016), Joe Lefebvre (1980) and the iconic Yogi Berra (1946).
Pinstriped Pulse
Domínguez was not the only youngster to have a memorable trip to Houston over the weekend! Austin Wells had a couple of hits plus a pair of RBI in his first MLB series, and on Saturday the quartet of Wells, Everson Pereira, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera became the first foursome age 24 or younger to each have at least one RBI in a game for the Yankees since June 21, 1970, when a group that included franchise legends Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson did so in Boston. We can’t forget about the veterans either! During that sweep in Space City, Judge became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 250 career home runs by games and Giancarlo Stanton homered in the series opener, giving him career homer number 399. Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu also stayed hot – Torres has homered six times in his last 12 games, a stretch in which he is batting .340, while seven of LeMahieu’s last 12 hits have gone for extra bases. With two scoreless appearances in Houston, Jonathan Loaisiga is up to 11.2 IP without allowing an earned run since he returned from the injured list on Aug. 8. Sunday’s winning pitcher Michael King has an ERA of 0.77 in three starts since he was moved from the bullpen to the rotation.
Probable Pitchers
The Yankees’ first two starters in this series faced the Tigers in Detroit last week. Gerrit Cole threw six innings of two-run ball to earn a victory at Comerica Park and now he gets a chance to make another statement in his case for this year’s American League Cy Young Award when he works opposite Alex Faedo tonight. It will be Faedo’s 12th start of the year, but he’s only thrown 13 pitches in game action since Aug. 28. Clarke Schmidt looks to bounce back tomorrow after Detroit chased him from his last outing in the fifth inning. He’s going to start against 25-year-old Matt Manning, who has been terrific lately. Over his last four starts, Manning has allowed just a single earned run in 23.2 innings, including a scoreless start against the Yankees five days ago. Carlos Rodón has a 2.87 ERA in his last three starts and will toe the slab Thursday in a matchup of veteran lefties. His counterpart, Eduardo Rodriguez, invoked a no-trade clause in his contract at the trade deadline and chose not to accept a deal to the Dodgers.