Alfonso Soriano’s last at-bat in a Yankee uniform came in the bottom of the 8th inning against the Marlins’ Josh Beckett in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. He singled to left-field, hoping to start a rally to bring the Yankees back from a 2-0 deficit. They would go on to lose that game and the World Series, and Soriano would eventually be traded to Texas in February of ’04 for Alex Rodriguez. Now, almost 10 years since that at-bat, Soriano finds himself back in pinstripes – at a new Yankee Stadium. Tonight will be his first regular season at-bat there; he did, however, play in an exhibition game in the Bronx as a member of the Cubs before the ’09 season. He went 3-for-4 with a run batted in and a run scored. CC Sabathia takes the mound tonight against Jeremy Hellickson in the first game of a BIG three-game series.
Check out our preview of tonight’s game here.
Tampa Bay Rays (60-42)
Desmond Jennings CF
Evan Longoria 3B
Wil Myers DH
Ben Zobrist 2B
Sean Rodriguez RF
Yunel Escobar SS
James Loney 1B
Jose Lobaton C
Sam Fuld LF
RHP Jeremy Hellickson (9-3, 4.62 ERA)
New York Yankees (54-48)
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Brent Lillibridge 3B
Austin Romine C
LHP CC Sabathia (9-8, 4.37 ERA)
Game Time: 7:05 pm EST – Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
TV: MY9
Radio: WCBS 880, WADO 1280
Weather: Clear, 78°F
