New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers: Series Preview

**Tuesday:**Elmer Rodríguez vs. **Jacob deGrom** **(7:05 pm ET)**

The last time Rodríguez was on the mound was in that last series in Arlington, and it wasn’t just any start. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched four full innings in his Major League debut and collected three strikeouts, but ended up giving two runs in the final game of the series, while Nathan Eovaldi pitched a gem and the Yankees were shut out. Considering the small workload for Rodríguez, it’s hard to say the kind of impact he could have in his first start at home, but there’s no doubt he will be fired up and looking to make sure that he gives the home fans a show. However, in order to give the Yankees faithful a good performance, he’s going to have to push past someone who has terrorized all of Major League Baseball — and was the lead man for the other New York team — for a long time: Jacob deGrom. The last time deGrom was on the mound was also when the Yankees visited Texas, pitching six innings with five strikeouts, no walks, and only three hits. He has been very strong through the year thus far, too, with a 2-1 record and a 2.01 ERA through six games with 40 strikeouts in 31.1 innings pitched. So, even though he sits at 38 years old, the kind of problems deGrom can bring to an opposing lineup is serious.

**Wednesday: Will Warren vs. Nathan Eovaldi****(7:05 pm ET)**

Will Warren has been about as good at the backend of the rotation as anyone on the Yankees’ staff could ask for, and that continued in his last start against the Orioles. He pitched 6.1 innings with three hits, one earned run, one walk, and nine strikeouts in a 7-2 victory. He remains a perfect 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 37.2 innings this season. Warren did not pitch against the Rangers last time the two teams faced each other, but the pitcher he’s across from did, and it was the best outing of the series by any pitcher on either squad. Nathan Eovaldi, the former Yankees hurler, posted seven shutout innings with four hits and seven strikeouts against the Bombers in his last outing, and he’s familiar with Yankee Stadium. Despite having a somewhat surprising 4.76 ERA on the season, it feels as if every time Eovaldi takes the mound against his former team, he finds another gear. In fact, of any team that Eovaldi has pitched against at least 10 times in his career, he has the fourth-lowest ERA against the Yankees. So, with that being said, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 36-year-old get back to that standard as he looks to bring down his season ERA as well.

**Thursday: Ryan Weathers vs. MacKenzie Gore (12:35 pm ET)**

The final matchup between these two teams for the series comes between two pitchers who are somewhat of the same archetype. Ryan Weathers, a 26-year-old left-handed pitcher who stands at 6-foot-1 on the mound with a new team this season, is going up against MacKenzie Gore, a 27-year-old left-handed pitcher who stands at 6-foot-2 on the mound with a new team this season — and both were previously on NL East teams as well. Weathers had a decent last outing against the Orioles, trying to maintain a starting role in the organization with the impending returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón and, as of now, competing with Warren for that final spot. He pitched five innings with three hits and three runs given up (one earned). He also walked two batters and struck out five. It was an outing that he likely would have wanted to see go a little bit better, but he received the win in the decision column, so it was a good enough buffer outing. Overall, Weathers still sits with an ERA just over 3.00, with 45 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched, a very solid place to be at the backend of a rotation. His opponent, Gore, hasn’t had the start with his new team that he would have liked to have coming out of spring training. His 4.67 ERA through seven starts and 34.2 innings pitched is a bit of a concern, and his last five games have been a bit of a slog to try and find any rhythm at all. In four of his last five, he has collected at least five strikeouts, with the highest total being nine in a 3-0 win against the Mariners on April 8th. However, that was almost a month ago, and in his last three games, he has allowed at least three runs. In his last start, Gore pitched only 3.2 innings (with 94 pitches) against the Tigers and gave up those three earned runs on just four hits. So, the Yankees are catching him at a vulnerable time. This game could be a pivotal one in the series, taking advantage of the weakest pitcher they’ll see from the Rangers this time out will be crucial.