The New York Yankees are 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the best record in both the AL East and the American League writ large. This weekend, they have a golden chance to cut down that deficit, facing them in a three-game series in the Bronx. New York split a four-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, losing the last two and scoring the grand total of one run between the two games. If the Yanks are going to get closer to the Rays, they are going to need their offense to step up.
Gerrit Cole
will be making his 2026 debut tonight, after wrapping up his rehab from Tommy John surgery performed last spring. He completed a long rehab assignment that included six starts across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, posting a 4.66 ERA in 29 innings. His most recent outing came in Scranton and included 5.1 strong frames in which he conceded a single run on six hits and a walk, with six punchouts. Cole threw 86 pitches in his most recent rehab outing, hitting 99.6 mph on the radar gun.
Cole will be facing Nick Martinez, a newcomer to the Rays who has put up a brilliant 1.51 ERA in nine starts and 53.2 innings. He has been pitching to contact, but things have gotten a bit extreme as he has just 35 strikeouts this year. If the Yankees can work some deep counts, they might be able to force some mistakes. They will need to be patient, though.
It’s also a perfect opportunity for team captain and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge to show some signs of life. He has only one hit, a single, in his last five games, covering 21 plate appearances. More concerning is Austin Wells, who has had a nightmare 2026 to date. His middling-at-best .688 OPS from the end of April is almost a dream compared to the .111/.184/.111 showing he’s had thus far in May, walking just four times and delivering zero extra-base hits. Since fellow backstop J.C. Escarra isn’t hitting either, the Yankees just have to roll the dice with one of them on a given night and hope for the best. Wells has just 3 hits in his last 37 at-bats, with 18 strikeouts.
Prior to the game, the Yanks reinstated José Caballero from the injured list in addition to Cole. He is in the lineup for Friday’s opener, batting seventh and playing shortstop with Anthony Volpe on the bench. Trent Grisham is leading off after his knee injury scare, followed by Judge, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Caballero, Ryan McMahon, and Wells.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:05 pm ET
TV broadcast/Streaming: YES Network, Rays.TV
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM
Streaming: Rays.TV, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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