Alright alright. The pomp and circumstance of Opening Day is over and the “off-day after Opening Day in case Opening Day gets rained out” off-day is over, so we can now start to get into the day in, day out grind of regular season baseball. The Yankees are looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time since, well, last year, and prized offseason pickup James Paxton is making his Yankees’ debut today.
“I think he came in and really fit in really well right away. I think he’s very comfortable in that room,” Aaron Boone said this morning. “… We want him to post, and we feel like if we can keep him healthy and taking his regular turn, the results will be there. This is a really talented pitcher that I think is capable of even more. I think he’s in a really good spot health-wise, work-wise right now. Just looking forward to him being a significant part of our rotation.”
Paxton is the 13th Canadian to play for the Yankees and the first since Jeff Francis and Chris Leroux in 2014. Man, those 2013-14 teams were a hell of a thing. DJ LeMahieu is also making his Yankees debut this afternoon. He is the 218th player born in California to suit up for the Yankees, which isn’t as noteworthy as Paxton being the 13th Canadian. Anyway, here are today’s starting lineups:
New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. 1B Luke Voit
5. DH Miguel Andujar
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 2B Gleyber Torres
8. SS Troy Tulowitzki
9. 3B DJ LeMahieu
LHP James Paxton
Baltimore Orioles
1. 2B Jonathan Villar
2. LF Dwight Smith Jr.
3. 1B Trey Mancini
4. DH Renato Nunez
5. RF Joey Rickard
6. 3B Rio Ruiz
7. CF Drew Jackson
8. C Jesus Sucre
9. SS Richie Martin
RHP Nate Karns (opener)
It is a bit cloudy in the Bronx at the moment, otherwise it is a fine afternoon for a ballgame. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET and you can watch on the YES Network. Enjoy the game.
Injury Updates: Luis Severino (shoulder) will long toss again today and is tentatively scheduled for a bullpen session early next week … Dellin Betances (shoulder) with throw a bullpen session today … Aaron Hicks (back) has ramped up his core and conditioning work, but has not yet resumed baseball activities … CC Sabathia (knee) makes his next start in a Extended Spring Training game Monday.
Misc. Notes: Greg Bird is fine. He’s sitting today so LeMahieu can play. Sounds like LeMahieu will be in the lineup the next few days at different positions. My guess is Tulowitzki sits tomorrow with Gleyber at short and LeMahieu at second. We’ll see … Boone said he doesn’t envision Tulowitzki playing three straight days anytime soon. They’re taking it slow with him … Domingo German is pitching Monday in some capacity. Whether the Yankees use an opener depends on their bullpen usage the next few days.