The New York Yankees are gearing up to face off against the Washington Nationals on Opening Day. This is an anticipated game, coming after the shut down of MLB due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Yankees have enjoyed three exhibition games the past two weeks, against the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. They also hosted a bevy of intrasquad matchups to help get their hitters live at-bats and pictures reps on the mound.
However, baseball is right around the corner, and we can finally begin to see an inkling of normalcy in society.
Let’s take a look at the starting pitching matchup:
Gerrit Cole Vs. Max Scherzer
This pitching matchup is a pairing of the elites.
In 2019, Cole pitcher for the Houston Astros, who lost to the Nationals in the World Series. However, Cole ranked second in  Cy Young voting and 10th in MVP voting. He posted a 2.50 ERA With 326 strikeouts over 212.1 and eggs. All three categories were career-highs, and he is bringing an elite level of play to a Yankees team that severely lacked an ace.
They will be heavily dependent on Cole, who is expected to pitch every few days and dominate in a condensed 60-game schedule. He has looked fantastic throughout summer camp, despite giving up a few abnormal home runs.
His counterpart, Max Scherzer, is also a dominant pitcher. Last season with the Nationals, he posted a 2.92 ERA with 243 strikeouts. He ranked third in Cy Young voting and 22nd in MVP voting. This will be a fantastic pitching duel between the two teams, but the Yankees have a slight advantage on that end.
Let’s take a look at the New York Yankees projected batting order:
1. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
2. Aaron Judge, RF
3. Gleyber Torres, SS
4. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
5. Aaron Hicks, CF
6. Gary Sanchez, C
7. Luke Voit, 1B
8. Gio Urshela, 3B
9. Brett Gardner, LF
The Yankees have one of the best batting orders in all of baseball. Built around a homer-centric mentality, the first four batters undoubtedly attest to their mantra. “Home runs, home runs, and more home runs!”
Over the past three games, Aaron Judge has hit three long balls, with Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, and Luke Voit getting involved in the party. Their game plan is always to focus on power, and that won’t change against the Nationals. Scherzer only allowed 18 home runs last season, so it might be difficult for the Yankees to get anything on that end. Nonetheless, players like DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Brett Gardner, and Gio Urshela represent high on-base percentage hitters.
Overall, this will be a pitching duel, and the offense will have to muster anything they can.
My projected score: 4-3 YANKEES WIN!