Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Stadium News; The Yankees are Coming!
Aug 15, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) delivers a pitch against Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.The Yankees won 4-1. . Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Yankees’ pitchers vs. Atlanta Braves: Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound Friday
NEW YORK — The Yankees and Atlanta Braves kick off a three-game series this weekend, starting Friday night (7:35 p.m.).
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It will be a homecoming for catcher Brian McCann, who spent the first nine seasons of his career as the Braves’ backstop before signing with New York last year.
Below are the pitching match-ups for the weekend. Masahiro Tanaka takes the hill first for the Yankees.
FRIDAY: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (9-6, 3.61) vs. RHP Williams Perez (4-4, 4.76)
Tanaka has never faced the Braves, and Perez, a rookie, hasn’t seen the Yankees. How will the two teams fare? Tanaka has lost three of his past five starts but has a decent 3.55 ERA in that time.
Said Tanaka on Wednesday: “I have to try to go out there and give my best, always give the team a chance…I feel pretty strong as far as stamina-wise.”
[ Ed. note: it just doesn’t get any easier, does it? The rest of the pitching matchups for the weekend series are…
Luis Severino and Matt Wisler in a battle of recent top prospect call-ups.
Nathan Eovaldi and Julio Teheran. At least the Braves know something about Eovaldi. That said, the NJ.com piece points out that he’s the anti-Shelby Miller: no losses since June 16. However he’s got an ERA under 3.00. ]
Also:
By the way, McCann has 22 homers, his 8th consecutive season w/ at least 20 HRs and his 9th in 10 full seasons in majors. #Braves #Yankees
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 28, 2015
Curiously enough, Evan Gattis and Justin Upton are both currently sitting at 22 home runs as well.
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