NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox are playing live on the MLB Spring Training schedule for the Grapefruit league and the matchup from JetBlue Park at Fenway South starts at 7:05 pm ET and games are streaming on MLB.com from the MLB.TV website and has the Yanks looking to keep things going against their rivals as New York continues spring play and it comes after Alex Rodrigues hit his first home run since 2013.
The Yankees got Masahiro Tanaka through a session without any issues and his health is a major priority for the team this season. The Yankees have missed the playoffs the past two years and last season their offense was very inconsistent. A-rod is coming back from his suspension and he likely will play mostly DH and some backup, as the team signed Chase Headley for third base this season. The team was ranked 20th in the league in runs scored and batting average overall last season and they need to be better for the chance to make the playoffs this year.
The Yankees come in after a win against the Braves and they will next play against the Tigers as the Boss man field. The team has been up and down in spring training so far, but not too much stock can be put into that right now. The Yankees have hope, as the division is fairly wide open, even with the Red Sox making all of the moves they did. Tanaka was perfect in his spring debut and went for two innings.
The team needs Tanaka and CC Sabathia to stay healthy for the majority of the season and that likely is their best chance to make it back to the postseason. CC comes in after pitching a simulated game and he will be back in action soon enough. The Yankees need Tanaka simply because they do, but they also need him because the team will be without Chris Capuano on opening day. The team needs him to be a solid starter and now he could be out until April with a quad injury.
The Red Sox introduced new star Yoan Moncada and they come in after making major moves in the offseason. The Red Sox were bad last year, but the team has added Rick Porcello, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to the mix and now they are trying to win the division again. The team won over the Pirates in their last game and after playing the Yankees the team will host the Buccos at Fenway South. The rivalry between these teams could heat up again this season if both are in playoff contention.
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