The New York Yankees were projected to face off against the Boston Red Sox on opening day, Thursday, April 7. However, the game was rescheduled to Friday, April 8, at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium due to inclement weather.
Fans have been waiting quite some time for baseball as the lockout took over and kept teams from preparing for the regular season. The shortened off-season and exciting free agency period have made the transition a bit more exciting, but live action can’t come fast enough.
Thursday’s Yankees-Red Sox Opening Day game has been rescheduled due to the forecast of inclement weather. The game will now be played on Friday, April 8, at 1:05pm at Yankee Stadium.
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The Yankees Opening Day pitching matchup:
The Bombers will feature Gerrit Cole on the mound against the Red Sox on Friday.
Last year, Cole posted a 3.23 ERA over 30 games with the Yankees, winning 16. He earned a 12.06 strikeouts per nine rate and his lowest home runs per nine rate since 2018 at 1.19. He posted a 43.1% ground ball percentage and 77.9% left on base rate. While Cole has had trouble keeping the ball on the ground at times, giving up too many home runs, he is still one of the best starters in baseball.
This spring, Cole recorded a 6.75 ERA over two games in 5.1 innings of action. He gave up six hits and two homers, striking out 10 batters and walking three. Cole normally has inconsistent spring starts, but he turns on the jets once the regular campaign gets started.
On the other side of the mound, the Red Sox will host Nathan Eovaldi as their opening day pitcher. Eovaldi finished the 2021 season with a 3.75 ERA over 182.1 innings of play. He played for the Yankees back in 2015 before joining the Tampa Bay Rays and then Boston in 2018 after dealing with injury.
However, Eovaldi is a solid starter who is capable of great performances, so the Yankees will need to be on their A-game if they want to take advantage and start the season with a win. Management is still putting together the opening day roster but has already announced some depth decisions, including Marwin Gonzalez and JP Sears.