Pitching matchups, lineups for Diamondbacks-Yankees at Chase Field
Apr 1, 2024, 4:32 PM
Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hands Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks his mask during the seventh inning of the game at Yankee Stadium on September 22, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said his ticket requests went through the roof this week with the New York Yankees coming to Chase Field for the first time in nearly five years.
“That’s the Yankees. They deserve that, it’s 27 world championships … they travel well, their fans are amazing,” Lovullo said.
“We’re prepared for that. We get the Dodgers into this arena eight times a year or six times a year, whatever it is now. We’re expecting a lot of Yankee fans. But we welcome this challenge. We want to see what this team looks like. They’re playing good baseball. We’re focused on today and we want to take care of our business the best way we know how.”
The D-backs and Yankees were among MLB’s hottest teams over the opening weekend, in which Arizona won three of four against the visiting Colorado Rockies.
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The Yankees went into Houston, a house of horrors in recent postseason memory for New York, and swept the Astros in four games.
New York swiped the fourth game on a Juan Soto RBI single in the ninth inning off former Padres teammate Josh Hader on Sunday, followed by an Alex Verdugo sliding catch to end the ballgame. The Yankees missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2016, so they went out and made the most significant trade of the offseason by adding Soto.
Soto pairs with Aaron Judge as a premier one two punch in baseball. Soto (9-for-17, HR) and Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (8-for-17, 3 HR) won their league’s respective player of the week awards before they match up on Monday night.
“I’ve seen (Soto) for the past two years in San Diego and you hold your breath every time he comes to the plate,” Lovullo said. “It’s going to be a very tough lineup to attack, our pitchers got to be spot on. We got up a good game plan … we’re not going to take him lightly.”
The Yankees won three games by two or fewer runs, while each of Arizona’s victories over Colorado came by four or more runs.
Arizona scored at least two runs in the first inning of all four contests and recorded a 14-run inning on Opening Day, the highest-scoring frame in franchise history.
Both clubs have a banged up rotation, and New York’s 25-year-old Luis Gil is starting the opener against D-backs righty Ryne Nelson — who was terrific in spring training. The Yankees started the year without Gerrit Cole (elbow), the reigning AL Cy Young winner who would have lined up for this series. The D-backs are still waiting for the debuts of Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery.
Rodriguez is throwing up to 120 feet in his program, while Montgomery threw 50 pitches at Salt River Fields to hitters on Monday as he builds up. Montgomery will pitch for Triple-A Reno on Sunday.
The D-backs and Yankees met last year in the Bronx, with New York winning two of three in less than ideal weather. Zac Gallen threw six shutout innings in Arizona’s lone win of the series, and he’ll go on Tuesday.
Diamondbacks-Yankees pitching matchups
Monday: RHP Ryne Nelson vs. RHP Luis Gil
Tuesday: RHP Zac Gallen vs. LHP Nestor Cortes
Wednesday: RHP Merrill Kelly vs. LHP Carlos Rodon
Monday’s Diamondbacks-Yankees lineups
Yankees
2B Gleyber Torres
RF Juan Soto
CF Aaron Judge
1B Anthony Rizzo
DH Giancarlo Stanton
LF Alex Verdugo
SS Anthony Volpe
C Austin Wells (former Arizona Wildcat)
3B Oswaldo Cabrera
RHP Luis Gil
Diamondbacks
2B Ketel Marte
CF Corbin Carroll
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
1B Christian Walker
DH Joc Pederson
3B Eugenio Suarez
C Gabriel Moreno
RF Jake McCarthy
SS Geraldo Perdomo
RHP Ryne Nelson
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