In what wasn’t much of a surprise, the New York Yankees have named Gerrit Cole their Opening Day starter. We all expected this from the instant that the team signed him, but it became official on Wednesday.
He’ll have the ball on Thursday, July 23rd when the Yankees face off against the Washington Nationals. Game time will be at 7pm from Washington D.C. with the game televised nationally on ESPN.
Cole is expected to go against Max Scherzer, the Nationals ace. Scherzer is arguably one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and has won three CY Young awards. He’s a sure Hall of Fame lock once eligible.
Friday will be the final tune-up for Cole before he takes the mound to open the shortened 2020 season. He will toss some innings in a intra-squad scrimmage before next Thursday’s start. Cole has looked good in scrimmages so far, and is looking to build off that on Friday. Pitching on Friday gives him an extra day of rest going into his first real start.
Although he won’t be pitching, the Yankees will be facing actual teams this weekend. They have scheduled scrimmages with the Mets on Saturday and Sunday, before visiting the Phillies on Monday en route to Washington, D.C. From there, the team will rest for a few days before opening the season.
The 2020 season will be like no other season before. Every game means so much, and you can’t afford to lose multiple games in a row. Hopefully, the team will remain healthy so they can make a push for their 28th World Series title.