Spring Training Game 9: Yankees at Rays

After falling to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, last night at GMS Field in Tampa, the Yankees are back at it today when the travel to Port Charlotte for a 1:05pm EST game against one of their AL East rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Adam Warren gets the call for the Bombers as he continues his fight to win the Yankees' fifth starter competition. Heading into his second start of the spring, I have Warren behind Vidal Nuno and David Phelps, who was knocked around for five hits and one runs in 2 2/3 innings last night.

Warren threw two scoreless inning against the Detroit Tigers in his first start of the spring last Friday in Lakeland. He walked two in the first inning of that outing, but was able to get out without giving up a run.

“A little jumpy the first inning, just excited to get back out there,” Warren said after the start. “I’m not pleased with the walks, but I know that’s not normal for me. Just feel like I was a little jumpy, so made the adjustment in the second inning there.”

Warren is a lot like Phelps in that he can help the Yankees in a couple of different ways. He'll be able to give you a start every now an then when you need it, but his biggest strength is that he can pitch out of the bullpen well, which could help him when roster are being cut down.

Today's lineup vs Tampa Bay:


Ichiro Suzuki gets the start in center field today. He's trying to prove to the Yankees this spring that he can be more than just a fifth outfielder for them, and this is also a good time for him to play well and show any interested teams that he;s worth trading for.

“He’s going to compete for playing time, just a lot of the other guys that are competing right now,” Girardi said yesterday when talking about Ichiro.

Yangervis Solarte will get another start in the lineup today, this time at shortstop. Solarte is hitting .778 so far this spring with six RBIs, all while playing four different positions.

“He’s played really well, he really has,” Girardi said. “We’ve moved him around. He’s played all over the infield, and we put him in left field. He’s a switch hitter. He has (raised some eyebrows).”

As for the relievers coming to the game, Dellin Betances is the only relievers worth paying attention to.

Today's game will not be on TV or radio, but you can follow along on Twitter for updates.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog.