Warm is what the Yankees are. They dropped the series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. It had been almost a month since they lost a series. The weather forecast for the first game at Yankee Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians. That is important. There is no retractable dome in the Bronx. The Yankees have the pitching advantage in this game, with Carlos Rodon starting against Tanner Bibee. Bibee has been good this season, but Rodon has been great. Do you believe Carlos Roon has turned up and is an ace?
Warm Weather Pitching Forecast
Carlos Rodon has been warming up for the Yankees in his last five starts. It is time to refer to him as an ace. Along with Max Fried, the Yankees have two. Rodon is 7-3 for the Yankees this season and has a 2.60 earned run average that is falling. He faces Tanner Bibee. Bibee has been up and down this year, and he has posted a 4-5 record and a 3.86 earned run average. Of note, he struggled in his last pitching outing against the Dodgers. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs. As the Yankees just saw, the Los Angeles Dodgers are tough, even with all their injuries.
When it comes to the bullpen, Cleveland has the advantage. Consider it warm to lukewarm. Overall, they have the 12th-ranked bullpen in Major League Baseball, and the Yankees have the 20th-ranked bullpen. When one goes beyond the statistics, the Guardian advantage is even greater. Yankee closer Luke Weaver may be injured. That would mean an enhanced role for everyone, and it may mean that struggling Devin Williams ends up as the closer tonight. Cleveland, on the other hand, is relatively strong in the bullpen. Cade Smith, Tim Herron, and Kolby Allard have all performed well this season, while Emmanuel Clase has struggled.
Big Stars on Display
Aaron Judge has led the New York Yankee lineup at 243 weighted runs created (100 is average), Trent Grisham 214 weighted runs created, Ben Rice weighted runs created, Paul Goldschmidt weighted runs created, Austin Wells 109 weighted runs created, and Anthony Volpe 112 weighted runs created. Though Volpe is the subject of trade rumors.
Meanwhile, the Yankees’ pitching will look to contain Steven Kwan at 160 weighted runs created. He has historically batted very well against the Yankees. Kyle Manzardo, a big bat in the Cleveland batting order, 144 weighted runs created, Gabriel Arias 143 weighted runs created, Austin Hedges weighted runs created, Angel Martinez weighted runs created, Jose Ramirez 129 weighted runs created, Daniel Schneemann 118 weighted runs created, and Bo Naylor 107 weighted runs created. Jose Ramirez has been warming up lately and may continue to do so tonight. Ramírez has an on-base streak of 28 games. He is batting .394 (43 for 109) with six home runs, 15 RBIs, and a 1.115 on-base plus slugging since it began on April 30.
Conclusion
In this first game of the series in the warm weather, the Yankees have the advantage over the Guardians. However, the potential injury to Luke Weaver is concerning. Jasson Dominguez may be hurt as well, though his potential injury is less concerning (the Yankees can start Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, and Cody Bellinger in the outfield). It will be crucial for the Yankees in this game and series to avoid looking past the Cleveland Guardians to the next series against the rival Boston Red Sox.
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