Spring Training Game Thread: Tanaka’s Third Start

So far this spring the rotation has looked, well, pretty much exactly as expected. The kids have shown promise but are also taking some lumps. Michael Pineda has continued his good start, bad start routine. CC Sabathia is just now getting into the swing of things following offseason knee surgery.

And then there’s Masahiro Tanaka, the staff ace, who has been masterful in his first two Grapefruit League starts. Every fifth day last season the Yankees could count on Tanaka chewing up innings and pitching a high quality game. He’ll make his third start of the spring this afternoon. Here is the lineup the Tigers sent down from Lakeland, and here is the Yankees’ lineup, which looks an awful lot like a potential Opening Day lineup sans Didi Gregorius, who is still away at the World Baseball Classic:

1. LF Brett Gardner
2. CF Jacoby Ellsbury
3. C Gary Sanchez
4. DH Matt Holliday
5. 1B Greg Bird
6. 2B Starlin Castro
7. 3B Chase Headley
8. RF Aaron Judge
9. SS Ronald Torreyes
   RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Available Pitchers: RHP Bryan Mitchell, LHP Daniel Camarena, RHP J.R. Graham, and RHP Brady Lail are all scheduled to pitch after Tanaka. RHP Colten Brewer, RHP Cale Coshow, RHP Ben Heller, LHP Joe Mantiply, and LHP Chasen Shreve are the extra arms. Brewer and Coshow are up from minor league camp for the day. Brewer was a minor league Rule 5 Draft pick from the Pirates over the winter.

Available Position Players: C Austin Romine, 1B Rob Refsnyder, 2B Ruben Tejada, SS Gleyber Torres, 3B Miguel Andujar, LF Pete Kozma, CF Dustin Fowler, RF Billy McKinney, and DH Chris Carter will be the second string off the bench. C Francisco Diaz, C Jorge Saez, C Kyle Higashioka, 1B Ji-Man Choi, SS Jorge Mateo, OF Dustin Fowler, OF Clint Frazier, and UTIL Wilkin Castillo are the extra players.

Pretty much perfect baseball weather in Tampa today. No clouds and temperatures in the low-80s without that gross Florida humidity. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. There’s also MLB.tv and the FOX Sports Go app. Enjoy the game.