Yankees at Blue Jays
In any other year, a new manager -- particularly one with no experience -- would be storyline No. 1 in the Bronx. Yet the hire of Aaron Boone has been overshadowed in the whirling vortex surrounding the New York Yankees, who unveil big-ticket offseason acquisition Giancarlo Stanton in Thursday's season opener at the Toronto Blue Jays.
Coming within one game of reaching the World Series a year ago is reason enough for supreme optimism, but forgive New York fans if they are almost giddy for having visions of Ruth-Gehrig and Mantle-Maris dancing in their heads with the pairing of Stanton and Aaron Judge, who slammed a combined 111 home runs in 2017. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no qualms about turning the keys to a top contender over to Boone, drawing a similarity to "NASA and a space shuttle. ... The manager isn't the whole space program. I think that's the difference now," Cashman said. After making the playoffs in back-to-back years, the Blue Jays finished 10 games below .500 last season and enter 2018 with concerns over the left side of their infield -- oft-injured third baseman Josh Donaldson is dealing with general body soreness and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is scheduled to see a specialist for a bone spur that sidelined him in spring training. Health is always a concern for second baseman Devon Travis, who missed the final 100 games last season, while the outfield will have a new look with National League imports Curtis Granderson and Randal Grichuk.
TV: 3:37 p.m. ET, YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (2017: 14-6, 2.98 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (2017: 10-11, 3.53)
Severino blossomed into the staff ace in his third year, finishing third in the American League Cy Young voting while nearly doubling his win total from his previous two seasons combined. The 24-year-old Dominican did not fare well against the Blue Jays, going 0-1 in two starts and allowing seven runs and 14 hits over 12 2/3 innings. Justin Smoak is 5-for-12 with a pair of homers and five RBIs against Severino.
Happ won 20 games in 2016 but he needed a strong finish last season, going 4-1 and allowing seven earned runs over his last five starts to reach double digits in wins for the fourth consecutive season. The 35-year-old won both his starts against the Yankees last season, limiting them to two runs and eight hits over 11 1/3 innings. Stanton and Judge each homered off Happ in nine and seven career at-bats, respectively.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees 1B Greg Bird is expected to miss six to eight weeks after undergoing ankle surgery Tuesday.
2. Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales has 11 homers in 51 games against the Yankees.
3. Stanton is 6-for-11 with three home runs in three games at Rogers Centre.