Brandon McCarthy (4-1, 2.21 ERA) will have to shake off his first loss in pinstripes to take on Alex Cobb (7-6, 3.41 ERA) and the Rays. McCarthy lost for the first time as a Yankee against the Indians. He allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with no help from his offense. He’s 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 10 career games against the Rays.
Cobb held the Cubs to one run on six hits while striking out six and walking none in six innings. He struggled with his mechanics earlier in the season, but he appears to have figured it all out.
The Yankees come into Tampa Bay on a four game losing streak in which they have scored just seven runs. They rank near the bottom of the AL in runs, OPS and home runs. All this after spending a combined $283 million to sign Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. “All teams have injuries, but when you lose four of your starting pitchers by the All Star break, three by the first or second week in May. It’s going to have an impact on any club, in my opinion, regardless of how good their farm system is,” said Hal Steinbrenner. “That’s certainly been part of it. But we put a lot of money into the offense as well, and they have been, as a whole, inconsistent. It’s been a problem. And it needs to change, needless to say.”
Masahiro Tanaka threw 10 fastballs across flat ground on Wednesday afternoon, another step forward since he wants to return this year. “It’s feeling really good,” he said “Really, I didn’t feel anything special compared to just regular tossing. I thought everything went well.” He still needs to throw bullpen sessions and batting practice before he faces hitters in rehab games, but he is still eyeing a return in September. “That’s our hope,” Joe Girardi said. “We wouldn’t be going through this if we didn’t expect him to pitch for us. Our hope is he’ll pitch in September.”
Notes on the game
Brian McCann will be activated Saturday from the 7 day concussion DL
Cobb is is 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA with 22 strikeouts in his last three outings.
First pitch at 7:10 pm on Yes.
