The New York Yankees will be trying to snap a two-game losing streak when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of their three-game weekend series on Friday night.
Marco Estrada, who is 7-11 with a 5.32 ERA, will get the start for the Blue Jays. The Yankees will hand the ball to Masahiro Tanaka, who is 11-5 with a 3.61 ERA.
The Blue Jays have struggled this season and find themselves in the middle of another slump. The team has lost three of their last four games, including their last three games and they will be trying to snap their losing streak against the Yankees when they play on Friday night.
Offensively, the Blue Jays have been inconsistent this season. The team has a .244 batting average, which is 19th in the league. Their .314 on base percentage is 20th, while their .427 slugging percentage is eighth in the league. The Blue Jays have scored 643 runs this season, which is 14th in the league.
Toronto's pitching has been one of the worst in the league this season. Opponents have a .266 batting average against the Blue Jays, which is 26th in the league. Their 4.86 ERA is 27th, while their 1.41 WHIP is 26th in the league.
In his last start, Estrada gave up five hits and two earned runs in six innings, helping the Blue Jays get a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. The team will need another solid effort from him to beat the Yankees on Friday night.
The Yankees have played well this season and would be leading the AL East if the Boston Red Sox haven't played as well as they have this season. Even though they have won 90 games, the Yankees are currently holding on to the top spot in the Wildcard standings, but the Oakland Athletics are hot on their trail and are only one game behind the Yankees in the Wildcard race.
New York will try to increase its lead in the AL Wildcard picture with a win over the Blue Jays on Friday night.
Offensively, the Yankees are one of the best teams in the league. The team has a .248 batting average, which is 15th in the league. Their .327 on base percentage is ninth, while their .445 slugging percentage is second in the league. The Yankees have scored 743 runs this season, which is second in the league.
New York's pitching has been better than the team's offense this year. Opponents have a .235 batting average against the Yankees, which is fifth in the league. Their 3.76 ERA is 10th, while their 1.22 WHIP is sixth in the league.
In his last start, Tanaka gave up three hits and zero earned runs in eight innings, helping New York get a 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. The team will need another great performance from him to get the win on Friday night.
7-0 in their last 7 vs. American League East.
4-0 in their last 4 Friday games.
10-1 in Tanaka's last 11 starts with 6 days of rest.
1-4 in their last 5 during game 1 of a series.
2-10 in their last 12 road games.
1-7 in their last 8 vs. American League East.
The Yankees are perfect in their last seven games against AL East opponents and have won 10 of Tanaka's last 11 starts. The Blue Jays have struggled against AL East opponents and have only two wins in their last 12 road games.
The Yankees will score some runs against Estrada, who has given up 13 runs in his last three starts, but the Blue Jays will struggle to score against Tanaka, who has given up five runs in his last three starts. Even though the two teams are combining for seven runs in their last three games, they won't score enough to go over in this game.
The Yankees average 3.02 runs in the first five innings this season, while the Blue Jays average 2.42 runs. The Yankees have the advantage here because they will be able to score a few runs against Estrada, who has given up 16 runs in his last four starts, while the Blue Jays will struggle to score against Tanaka, who has allowed six runs in his last four starts.
The Yankees will get to Estrada early in this game, which will cause the Blue Jays to turn to their bullpen earlier than they would like. Tanaka gave up a run the last time he started against the Blue Jays and might give up another one3 in this game. Expect to see enough offense in the first five innings to get the totals over five in this game.