Jackie Robinson Day was observed around Major League Baseball on Monday and festivities will continue on Tuesday for teams that did not play, as the Yankees and Diamondbacks will all don number 42 for their game on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres observed the day in LA with Jackie Robinson's widow in attendance and all animosity was put aside between the two after their brawl last week. Robinson was a Dodger and he made his debut in 1947 for that team when they were still in Brooklyn. Both teams honored the event and the Padres won 6-3 after it was all said and done for their third win of the season.
Mariano Rivera of the Yankees will not need a uniform change on Tuesday, as he is the last major league player to have the jersey number after it was retired and he has been carrying the legacy of Robinson with him all this time. The Yankees enter the game after a shutout from Hiroki Kuroda, while Ivan Nova will get the start against Brandon McCarthy and it will be Nova's first since April 5 when he was shelled and lost 8-3 to the Tigers.
The Yankees have been solid despite playing without Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson and now have a chance to take out a team they played back in the 2001 World Series. The Diamondbacks have been solid this season at 8-4 and the team enters the game after a 1-0 shutout win over the Dodgers on Sunday to stay in first place in the division.
McCarthy is 2-0 in three starts against the Yankees and Nova will look to give the team a solid start on Jackie Robinson Day. The Yankees are ranked 10th in runs and third in average through the early part of the season and is in the top five in both slugging and on base percentage.
