New York Yankees Previews: Atlanta Braves look for revenge over the Yankees at Atlanta tonight

New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole
USA Today

The New York Yankees have traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for their second meet up with the Atlanta Braves.  The Yankees swept the Braves at Yankee Stadium, and now the Braves will be looking for revenge.  There will be two differences this time. Yankee slugger Aaron Judge will be back in the lineup after being sidelined by a right calf strain.  For the Braves their star player Ronald Acuna will be back from a wrist injury.

The game will be played at Truist Park, home of the Braves.  Truist Park is a modern open-air stadium just outside Atlanta in Cumberland, Georgia. The weather tonight may be a factor. The game-time temperature will be about 78 degrees.  There will be thunderstorms all day, in the Atlanta area. The likelihood of a storm at 7 pm is 40% but will reduce as the game progresses.

The Atlanta Braves have not announced a starting pitcher for tonight’s game.  The Associated Press is reporting that it will be Touki Toussaint. This writer believes that is incorrect, as he pitched just three days ago.  I am going with Kyle Wright or Ian Anderson the Braves top pitching prospect.  Anderson, 22, was the third overall pick in the 2016 draft. The right-hander was 8-7 with a 3.38 ERA with 172 strikeouts in 26 starts split over Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. If it is Kyle Wright, he is 0-3 in four starts with an ERA of 7.20.

The New York Yankees will start pitching ace Gerrit Cole, who is 4-0 in five starts, with an ERA of 2.75.  Cole has been the only reliable pitcher for the Yankees this season.  In six career starts against Atlanta, all while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cole is 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA. His most recent start against the Braves came May 22, 2017, and he was knocked out after 4 2/3 innings while allowing five runs on 10 hits. In Cole’s last outing against the Rays, he had 10 strikeouts in the loss for the Yankees. Adam Ottavino took the loss. Cole threw 109 pitches in the game but got no run support.

Both teams have significant injuries. Braves: Jacob Webb: (shoulder), Jeremy Walker: (shoulder), Mike Soroka: (Achilles), Phil Pfeifer: (elbow), Cole Hamels: (left arm), Ronald Acuna Jr.: (wrist), Ozzie Albies: (right wrist). Yankees: Luis Severino: (elbow), James Paxton: (forearm), Tommy Kahnle: (forearm), Zack Britton: (left hamstring), Luis Avilan: (shoulder), Aaron Judge: (lower body), Gleyber Torres: (quad/hamstring), DJ LeMahieu: (thumb), Giancarlo Stanton: (left hamstring), Kyle Higashioka: (right oblique).

The Yankees remained idle over the weekend, when their series with the crosstown New York Mets was postponed due to a Met player and crew member, of their traveling party tested positive for the coronavirus.  The Yankees, particularly the bullpen should be well rested for tonight’s game. While the Yankees were idle, they regained the AL East lead by a half a game, due to the Rays losing a game to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Atlanta Braves lead the NL East.