Ryan Weathers (2-4, 3.86) gets the ball for the Yankees opposite Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage (2-3, 3.16), first pitch 7:37 PM ET. Both guys are coming off losses in their last starts — Weathers got tagged for 5 earned by Boston over 6 innings, Yesavage gave up 6 to Baltimore in 5.2. Neither rotation is exactly cruising into this one.
The bigger story is the Yankees walking into an ALDS rematch without Aaron Judge, who's on the 10-day IL with a stress fracture in his right rib and looking at a 4-to-6 week timeline. Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez are out, Austin Wells is still working back from a head injury, and somehow New York has won 4 in a row anyway. They just took 3 from Cleveland and have only lost once in their last 6 (with a 0-0 tie thrown in for good measure).
Toronto is doing the opposite of stacking momentum — 33-36, just dropped 2 of 3 to the Phillies, and the offense has been treading water without Daulton Varsho (wrist) and Anthony Santander. The big tease: manager John Schneider said Alejandro Kirk could be back from the 60-day IL as soon as Friday, which would be a real shot in the arm behind the plate. Shane Bieber also tossed 6 scoreless on a Triple-A Buffalo rehab Thursday, so reinforcements are coming, just not in time for this one.
Weathers is the actual concern here. His ERA has ballooned from 3.00 to 3.86 across his last 4 starts, and he's been knocked around for 10 earned over his last 12.2 innings — a 7.10 clip with 5 home runs allowed. Even with Judge missing, the Vlad/Bichette core at Rogers Centre on a left-handed starter struggling to keep the ball in the yard is the matchup Toronto wanted.
- Day-To-DayPayton Henry C — The Yankees signed Henry to a minor-league contract Monday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- Day-To-DayEric Reyzelman SP — no
- Day-To-DayTravis MacGregor SP — MacGregor underwent Tommy John surgery last September and will miss the entire 2019 season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Wells C — Wells (head) will resume baseball activities at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILAaron Judge RF — The Yankees announced Thursday that Judge has a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side and will be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks before being re-evaluated, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJasson Dominguez LF — Dominguez (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Friday, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton DH — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Stanton (calf) will not be activated from the 10-day injured list during the team's June 8-14 road trip, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Fried SP — Fried (elbow) is expected to begin throwing from 120 feet and will also undergo more imaging during the upcoming week, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- Day-To-DayDaulton Varsho CF — Varsho (wrist) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Phillies.
- Day-To-DayGeovanny Jesus Planchart C — no
- Day-To-DayChay Yeager RP — Yeager will undergo season-ending UCL surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILAddison Barger RF — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Monday that Barger (elbow) is "making progress" while continuing to ramp up his hitting at the team's complex in Florida, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa 2B — Sosa went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and an additional RBI on Saturday against the Twins in an 11-4 victory.
- developmental listFernando Perez P
- 60-Day-ILShane Bieber SP — Bieber (elbow) tossed six scoreless innings Thursday, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out five batters in a rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILLazaro Estrada RP — Estrada (shoulder) struck out three over three perfect innings of relief Sunday in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Buffalo.
Yesavage is the other half of why this game has Toronto folks excited. The World Series hero from last fall has looked the part since coming off the shoulder IL, including a 6-inning, 8-strikeout, 0-run number against these same Yankees a couple weeks back. The Baltimore start was a hiccup, but a 3.16 ERA and the kind of swing-and-miss stuff he's flashing makes this a different problem for a Bronx lineup that's already running short.
Pinnacle has it as a coin flip — Yankees -100, Jays -108, total 7.5. That's the market saying it doesn't trust either rotation completely and isn't sure the short-handed Yankees can grind out runs against a Yesavage at home. Sounds about right.