Prior to Sunday’s penultimate Spring Training game, New York Yankees‘ manager Aaron Boone set the starting rotation for the team’s first six games of 2021.
As announced previously, Gerrit Cole will take the ball on Opening Day against Toronto. He’ll take on the newly added Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Blue Jays in a matinee game featured on ESPN along with YES Network. Cole pitched last on Friday and will go into Opening Day on six days rest.
For game two against the Blue Jays, Corey Kluber will get the ball for his Yankee debut. Kluber pitched on Sunday in Spring Training, giving up two earned runs in 3.1 innings. Saturday’s game with the Blue Jays is scheduled for a 1:05 pm first pitch.
In Sunday’s series finale with Toronto, the Yankees will send out Domingo German for his first start in nearly a year and a half. Due to domestic allegations, German missed the entire 2020 season under a suspension and will look to pick up where he left off in 2019. German has pitched nine scoreless innings this spring and will have one final tune-up on Monday for his start against the Blue Jays.
Beginning the series with the Baltimore Orioles, it’ll be Jordan Montgomery getting his first start of the 2021 season. Montgomery pitched to a 5.11 ERA last season in 10 starts but has looked sharp this spring with a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings. He’ll be the only lefty in the rotation, as he won the final rotation spot over Deivi Garcia, who’s headed to AAA.
In Tuesday’s game versus the Orioles, the ball lands back in Gerrit Cole’s hands. Because Opening Day is scheduled for Thursday, Cole will have full rest prior to his start against Baltimore. However, if Opening Day were to be postponed, the rotation would need adjusting.
Pitching in the finale against the Orioles will be Jameson Taillon. Being that he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery, Boone wanted to give Taillon a little bit more conditioning before sending him out for his first start. Taillon pitched to a 1.08 ERA this spring.
Starters past the series with the Orioles haven’t been announced, but it’s expected it’ll be Corey Kluber opening on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays.