The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers are playing on the MLB schedule on Thursday as they finish off a series and the AL matchup starts at 1:08 pm ET at Comerica Park and has Masahiro Tanaka and Anibal Sanchez in the pitching duel, which should make for a good game and the matchup will be on MLB Network.

Tanaka comes in after his best start of the season and he has the chance to keep things going for the Yankees. Tanaka could be the most important player for the team after coming back from an injury last year and he is the top starter in the rotation. CC Sabathia has looked better and Michael Pineda has been strong and things will be held together in the rotation if Tanaka can stay healthy.

The Yankees have a strong bullpen and they need to be careful about overuse and that is why Tanaka starting and eating innings is so important. The team comes in after a win and Tanaka has some momentum behind him after keeping the Rays scoreless in seven innings of work and he had eight strikeouts in that game. Tanaka is 4-2 on four days rest in his major career and now he has the chance to do it again. Sanchez is coming in looking to bounce back for the Tigers after David Price was beaten on Wednesday.

The Yankees come in at 8-7 on the season after a slow start, while the Tigers have stumbled a bit and now are 13-4 on the season after a great start. The team lost consecutive games for the first time this season and fell 13-4 to the Yankees and it saw David Price get knocked around in the matchup after he off off to a great start this year. The Tigers need Price to be great, as Max Scherzer is now in Washington and the team has Justin Verlander on the mend.

The Yankees and Tigers actually had to deal with some snow on Wednesday and now the two teams will take the field for the final matchup of the series. Alex Rodriguez has been off to a good start and he is a couple home runs away from tying the mark by Willie Mays at 660 and he is looking to get that done soon.

The Yankees may try and keep the milestone money from him, but they can't discount how strong he has been and he has been one of the most consistent players for the Yankees. Tanaka comes in with a 3.94 ERA and a 2-1 record this season and he has the chance to stifle the Tigers, who are shaping up once again to be the best team in the central.

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