After the New York Yankees’ series against the Philadelphia Phillies was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Miami Marlins ranks, the squad will now face off against the Baltimore Orioles as a supplement. The Phillies previously played a three-game series against Miami, and despite taking extreme actions to eradicate any possibility of viral transmission, the Yankees elected to stay away.
During the process of moving all their equipment back to the Bronx, the Yankees received a call from Major League Baseball. The call asked if they would prefer to play against the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. So, of course, the Yankees decided to compete, moving all of their equipment to Baltimore instead.
The pitching matchups:
Gerrit Cole: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 innings, 5 SO, 1 ER
Asher Wojciechowski (2019 stats): 4-8, 4.92 ERA, 82.1 innings, 80 SO, 46 ER
Clearly, from the pitching matchup, the Yankees have an elite advantage over the Orioles. Cole started off his 2020 campaign with a solid start against the Nationals. Despite giving up a first-inning homer, he recorded five strikeouts and lead the team to a victory in a rain-out.
Asher, who seems to be far down on the pecking order, will have a tough time with a stop to Yankee lineup full of premium sluggers.
The lineup for the Yankees will probably look similar to their Opening Day group. The only change might be Brett Gardner on the bench and either Miguel Andujar or Mike Tauchman in the outfield.
Andujar earned his first start in left field against the Nationals on Sunday, holding his own for the most part. He wasn’t able to get anything going on the offensive side, but a lack of reps will do that to a player. Of course, the frequent Clint Frazier argument presents itself, and he could earn an opportunity soon with the way left field has been looking. Altogether, Andujar, Tauchman, and Gardner have a compiled .000 BA with six strikeouts.
While some Yankees have been struggling, players like Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres have stood out at times. Stanton is hitting .444 with two homers and four RBIs. Torres was the hero against the Nationals on Sunday, hitting his first home run of the year and collecting his first hit.
I fully anticipate the Yankees crushing Asher, who gave up 17 homers last season.
My projected score for the game: 7-2 YANKEES