The dog days of Spring Training have arrived. I love baseball and Grapefruit League games are fun in their own way, but geez, there are still three weeks until Opening Day. I’m getting antsy. Well, anyway, the Yankees are back in action this afternoon and new addition James Paxton is on the mound. Paxton was always going to be important to the 2019 Yankees. With Luis Severino nursing a shoulder problem, Paxton’s importance has been ramped up.
What to watch beyond Paxton today? Danny Farquhar is going to make his second spring appearance, so that’s cool, plus the first base competition will continue. Is it a “competition” or a real competition? I lean toward the former. We’ll see. Anyway, here is the Bryce Harper-less Phillies’ lineup the Yankees will see today, and here are the players the Yankees will use today:
- SS Troy Tulowitzki
- 3B Miguel Andujar
- 1B Luke Voit
- C Gary Sanchez
- DH Greg Bird
- LF Clint Frazier
- CF Estevan Florial
- RF Matt Lipka
- 2B Thairo Estrada
LHP James Paxton
Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Francisco Diaz, C Kyle Higashioka, 1B Mike Ford, IF L.J. Mazzilli, IF Wendell Rijo, IF Gio Urshela, OF Trey Amburgey, OF Billy Burns, OF Rashad Crawford, OF Zack Zehner, UTIL Tyler Wade. Mazzilli, Rijo, Crawford, and Zehner are up from minor league camp for the road trip.
Available Pitchers: RHP Danny Farquhar, RHP David Hale, RHP Jonathan Holder, LHP Trevor Lane, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP David Sosebee, LHP Stephen Tarpley, RHP Greg Weissert. Lane, Sosebee, and Weissert are the extra arms up from minor league camp.
It is nice and sunny in Clearwater this afternoon, and also on the cool side. Pretty excellent weather. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on MLB.tv anywhere or on NBC Sports Philadelphia in the Phillies’ home market. There is no YES Network or MLB Network broadcast today. Enjoy the game.