Going into tonight’s game, the Yankees already know several results pivotal to the playoff race. Wednesday was a getaway day for much of baseball, and the AL East-leading Blue Jays defeated the Orioles, while the Red Sox defeated the Twins hours before the first pitch is thrown in the Bronx tonight.
For the Yankees, it’s the third game of a four-game set against a fading division rival that will make a decision over the next 24 hours about what direction they want to go. With inclement weather forecasted
for tomorrow’s matinee series finale, the Yankees will want to win this one to avoid potentially ending the homestand on a sour note into the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon.
Will Warren will take the ball for his 23rd start, tying the major league lead, which is something nobody expected to hear with July coming to an end. Warren has had an inconsistent season, currently having a 4.82 ERA (85 ERA+) and 3.71 FIP with 124 strikeouts in 104.2 innings. He finally got back on his horse in the strikeout department last time out against the Phillies, coming one out shy of a quality start with seven strikeouts in a no-decision.
Warren has struggled with the Rays in 2025, combining to throw just 6.1 innings and allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits and five walks. Since his most recent start against Tampa on May 4th, Warren has finished five innings in 11 of his 15 starts.
Zack Littell is on the mound for the Rays, enjoying a solid season with a 3.72 ERA (110 ERA+) and 4.92 FIP in 128.1 innings (top 15 in the majors). The workhorse has completed six innings in 16 of his 21 starts and has only been chased before completing the fifth one time. Against the Yankees this season, Littell got the win with seven solid innings on May 3rd, allowing two runs.
The reason Littell’s FIP is so high is related to his minuscule strikeout rate (16.5 percent) and his MLB-leading 26 home runs allowed. On a steamy Wednesday night in the Bronx, the conditions are there for the Yanks to put some balls in the seats against a pitcher who isn’t overpowering with the fastball and has struggled with hard contact. They’ll have to look out for his splitter, which has made up for a mediocre slider. Littell manages to fly through games and keep his pitch count low with incredibly low walk rates and an 85th percentile chase rate.
Littell has neutral splits, but the Yankees will be unloading a ton of lefties on him. Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger stack lefties at the top, Giancarlo Stanton returns to the lineup to bat cleanup, and despite two errors yesterday and rumors of a day off to reset mentally, Anthony Volpe will bat eighth. The recently acquired Austin Slater has been activated prior to tonight’s game, so he’ll be a pinch-hitting option off the bench. J.C. Escarra was sent down.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 30, 2025
• Added OF Austin Slater (#29) to the active roster.
• Optioned C J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Chandler Simpson returns to the lineup for the Rays, leading off, as does Matt Thiass, batting eighth. The most important change, however, is the activation of All-Star Brandon Lowe off the injured list, who’s batting second at second base.
How to Watch:
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: FanDuel Sports Network Sun | MLBN (out-of-market only)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 | WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM, WQBN/1300AM
Online stream: Amazon Prime Video | MLB.tv
Midweek Matchup. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/82nlHcudh0
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 30, 2025
Bronx Starting-Nine pic.twitter.com/Bgs7J0W9N3
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 30, 2025
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