The Toronto Blue Jays and NY Yankees are playing live on the MLB Spring Training schedule on Tuesday and the matchup from George M. Steinbrenner Field starts up past 7:05 pm ET in the Grapefruit League as New York hosts their AL East rivals and the matchup comes as CC Sabathia is ready to make his debut.
The Yankees come into the game after a win over the Phillies and they will next play on the road against the Braves. The team is looking to get out of camp healthy and they need players like Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka to hold up this season. The team ranked 20th in the league last year in runs scored and batting average and they need to get that up higher in 2015.
The Yankees missed the playoffs for the second straight season and now more pressure is on Joe Girardi to get the team back to the postseason. Alex Rodriguez will be playing against the Jays, while Jacoby Ellsbury will be out for the matchup while dealing with an injury. The Yankees have A-Rod batting second and playing third base and he will be looking to keep his strong spring going.
The team added Chase Headley this offseason after acquiring him and now he will be the starting third baseman, with A-Rod backing him up. A-Rod also could get some time behind Mark Teixeira while also hitting DH. The Yankees have been trying to get their usual lineup some at-bats together and on Tuesday A-Rod will; hit behind Brett Gardner in the lead off spot.
Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller are the anchors in the bullpen and they will be tasked with replacing David Robertson after he signed with the White Sox. The Yankees also have a competition going for their final rotation spot, as Chris Capuano came down with an injury and he could be out for a bit. According to ESPN.com, Esmil Rogers has looked good this spring and there is a chance that he could win the job.
The Blue Jays were one of the most consistent offensive teams in the league last season and they come into the game after playing against the Canadian Jr. National team and winning over the Braves as well. The team has the Red Sox, Rays and Phillies coming up and later on they play against the Orioles and the Twins on the schedule.
The team comes in after being ranked fifth in runs and in the top 10 in batting average and on base percentage. The Jays see this year as a big one and with the AL wide open, they feel they can win it after adding Josh Donaldson.
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