Rays at Yankees
Giancarlo Stanton makes his home debut with the New York Yankees when they carry a two-game losing streak into the opener of a two-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on Monday. Stanton crushed a pair of homers in his debut with New York to lift them to a season-opening win at Toronto, but was 1-for-9 in the next three games as the Yankees split the four-game set with the Blue Jays.
New York led 4-1 into the seventh inning Sunday before the bullpen faltered for the second straight day in a 7-4 defeat. The Yankees are 16-4 in home openers since 1998 and will take on a Tampa Bay squad that managed three runs over the course of three straight losses to the Boston Red Sox. Denard Span, who delivered a key bases-clearing triple in the Rays' win over the Red Sox in Thursday's opener, struck out with runners on the corners to end Sunday's 2-1 loss. Tampa Bay is currently operating with a four-man rotation and announced after the loss that reliever Austin Pruitt will start Monday.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, ESPN; FS Sun (Tampa Bay), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Austin Pruitt (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Yankees LH Jordan Montgomery (2017: 9-7, 3.88)
Pruitt was the winning pitcher in Tampa Bay's comeback 6-4 win on Thursday, allowing a hit and a walk in two scoreless innings. He was 7-5 with a 5.31 ERA in 30 games as a rookie last season, going 2-3 with a 4.19 mark in his eight starts. One of them came at Yankee Stadium on July 28, when he got the loss after giving up five runs in five innings while striking out seven and allowing three home runs.
Montgomery struck out 144 and allowed 140 hits in 155 1/3 innings during a solid rookie campaign in 2017. He was 6-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 15 starts at Yankee Stadium, including six innings of one-run ball against the Rays on Sept. 26 to pick up his ninth and final win of the year. The 25-year-old posted a 3.43 mark in six Spring Training appearances to help lock down the last spot in the rotation.
WALK-OFFS
1. The game time temperature is forecast to be 39 degrees with rain and snow expected to fall Monday morning.
2. Yankees 3B Brandon Drury slugged a two-run homer Sunday and is 5-for-13 with four RBIs through the first four games.
3. Rays RH Yonny Chirinos made his major league debut a memorable one with four scoreless innings of relief against the Red Sox on Sunday.