ST. PETERSBURG
DeShawn Shead Jersey , Fla. — The New York Yankees have the best record in baseball at 50-22, and they’ve rarely been better than against the Tampa Bay
Rays this season.The Yankees won their first five meetings with the Rays this season by a combined margin of 31-10 before losing Sunday, and they’re back again for a
weekend series at Tropicana Field, having won seven of eight overall after a
sweep of the Mariners.New York has been dominant for many reasons, but a strong bullpen is certainly one of them, with a collective ERA of 2.86, second only to Houston
among American League teams. Part of that has been solid starting pitching
requiring less use of relievers. The Yankees’ relievers have thrown close to 70
innings fewer than the Rays have in grinding out a 3.73 ERA in a league-high
workload.“They’ve been terrific,” manager Aaron Boone said of New York’s relievers. “They protect each other
Pat McAfee Jersey , because many guys have stepped up. … It’s a big reason. We’re built in a lot of ways around that great bullpen. They continue to
deliver.”The Rays (34-40) have lost five of seven and have sorely missed that continuity in their starting rotation, continuing to rely on relievers working
as “openers” on patchwork bullpen days. Such will be the case in Friday’s
opener, with right-hander Ryne Stanek (1-1, 2.21 ERA) getting the ball first,
but expected to go little more than the first inning.Stanek has pitched exceptionally well in that role, however. In eight June appearances, he has an 0.00 ERA in 10 2/3 innings, having allowed only three
hits with 12 strikeouts against three walks. Until their recent skid
Orlando Pace Jersey , the Rays had continued to hover around .500 baseball despite trading away major parts of last year’s team in exchange for
prospects.Stanek started last Saturday’s game against the Yankees, and allowed one hit and no runs in 1 1/3 innings in a game New York won 4-1. He has faced the
Yankees five times in his career, inclding that one start, and is 0-0 with a
2.08 ERA over 4 1/3 innings.The Rays got one key player back after missing two months with injury in center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, whose defense is among the league’s best. His
bat has yet to come around this season, though. He is 0-for-9 in two games since
returning from the disabled list, lowering his season average to .135.“He’s fine. He’ll get going,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Unfortunately
Sam Hubbard Jersey , KK got off to a rough start. Those numbers are going to be ugly for a little while, but I’m confident he’ll get going … I’m
very confident.”The Rays will face a familiar face Friday in Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia, who is 4-2 this season with a 3.30 ERA, with one of those two losses coming
Sunday against the Rays in New York. Sabathia pitched into the eighth but gave
up a season-high 10 hits, allowing three runs in a 3-1 loss while striking out a
season-high 10 batters and walking only one.Sabathia has faced the Rays 46 times in his career, and no opponent has more wins against him than the Rays — he’s 16-15 all-time, with a 3.76 ERA.New York goes into the series with a considerable head of steam. They’re 17-4 in their last 21 games, putting them on pace to challenge the best starts by any
team at this stage in the season.Steelers guard Ramon Foster will soon begin his 10th season with the team. Some think it could be his last.Joe Rutter of the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review explains that the Steelers could choose to go with B.J. Finney in 2019. Finney will be a
restricted free agent; Foster
Andre Reed Jersey , who is in the final year of his current contract, will be an unrestricted free agent.Foster is under contract for 2018, at a base salary of $2.675 million and a cap charge of $3.591 million.He joined the Steelers in 2009, the first season after the team’s most recent Super Bowl win. He became a full-time starter in 2011, missing only eight
regular-season games in seven seasons.Foster also has started 11 postseason games, including Super Bowl XLV.
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