Game Poll: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros

Quick Notes

The Astros will complete a nine-game run against the New York teams tonight with a single makeup game against the Yankees. This game is technically the first of three that were skipped at the beginning of the season thanks to the lockout. The other two will be played as a doubleheader a couple of days after the All Star Game next month.

As for the preview of this particular game, though, there’s not a whole lot to add beyond what the excellent bilbos wrote the last time the Yankees faced the Astros just last week. The only addendum to add is that New York comes into this game riding a four-game win streak after sweeping the A’s in the Bronx while Houston across the bridge was in Queens.

That’s not so surprising as the Yankees continue to remain at the top of the class with the best record in baseball by a fair margin. But even with that distinction, the four game weekend series that Houston just played in New York shows that they’re hardly alone at the top. Look for more fireworks as these two heavyweights face off once again.

You can probably expect fireworks from the usual suspects as Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton all continue to provide a solid core in the lineup to strip the cover off the baseball. The bullpen also remains a huge strength for the Yanks, with emerging star closer Clay Holmes anchoring the ninth while the team awaits the return of an injured Aroldis Chapman, who is currently on a rehab assignment.

The Astros will face off against Luis Severino for this game, his second straight start against Houston. It presents an opportunity for the lineup, most of whom saw him just four games ago, so hopefully the big bats can take advantage. Severino has been solid for the most part this season, but he has been known to cough up 4 to 5 runs from time to time.

Last 10 Games: 7-3 Record, 1 Series Sweep, 1 Series Win, 1 Series Split, +8 Run Differential (43 scored, 35 allowed)

W/L Splits: 34-9 at home, 22-11 on the road, 24-11 against teams over .500

Injured List: Jonathan Loaisiga: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Chad Green: 60-Day IL (elbow), Aroldis Chapman: 15-Day IL (achilles), Ben Rortvedt: 60-Day IL (oblique), Stephen Ridings: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Domingo German: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Zack Britton: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Starters

Game 1: Luis Severino (RHP, 4-2, 3.38 ERA, 87 K’s) vs Luis Garcia (RHP, 5-5, 3.68 ERA, 74 K’s)

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

Game 1: Thursday, June 30th @ 5:10 pm CDT
Listen: Yankees - WADO 1280, WFAN 660/101.9 FM / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010
Watch: Yankees - YES / Astros ATT SportsNet-SW / MLB Network (out-of-market only)