The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays continue to battle it out in the American League East as the two teams still have several meetings against one another in the near future. The Yankees currently lead the conference, but the Blue Jays made significant upgrades to their roster which could propel them closer to the top and at least into a wild card spot. The Yankees will get a good look at one of those new players as David Price takes the mound.
Toronto did some spending in free agency winning the race for Price who was being shopped by the Detroit Tigers. The pitcher has one year left on his contract and made it clear he had no plans to remain with the Tigers, earning himself a one-way ticket to Canada as a result. Price is currently 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA on the season. His first start with Toronto was as good as could be expected. The pitcher gave up just one run and three hits over eight innings to get the win against the Twins. He struck out 11 in that start.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are fine on offense in terms of batting as they are continues to dominate at the plate, but their pitching has left plenty of questions. New York did not make any moves at the trade deadline to acquire a big arm like Price and instead are putting their faith in their current roster. IVan Nova has certainly been an issue for the team recently. After returning from Tommy John surgery, Nova has continued to decline in terms of stats. He is 4-3 with 3.10 ERA on the season. He did just win his third straight start thanks to good batting while giving up one run and two walks over six innings of play. The Yankees remain optimistic that Nova can continue to capitalize off the strong play and help propel them into the postseason.
The Yankees are trying to hold on tight to the division lead, but Toronto has the roster ready to compete. They need the offense to continue to remain on a tear as the pitching will be a storyline to watch.
