LEADING OFF: Subway Series, Freeway Series, Keuchel pitches
A look at what's happening around the majors today:
START IT UP
This year's Subway Series begins at Yankee Stadium, though rain is in the forecast for the opener of the two-game set.
Jason Vargas (2-3, 3.57 ERA) pitches for the Mets. The 36-year-old lefty is coming off a shutout against the Giants and has a 1.85 ERA in his last seven starts — but he's 0-7 with a 6.84 ERA vs. the Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka (3-5, 3.42 ERA) returns from the paternity list to pitch for the Yanks.
Out of action is Mets second baseman Robinson Canó, who is back on the injured list with tightness in his left quadriceps and will miss the games against his former team.
FREE AND EASY
The Freeway Series opens up when Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.35 ERA) starts at Angel Stadium. Ryu has the lowest ERA among qualifying pitchers in the majors to go with a 0.77 WHIP.
Angels rookie Griffin Canning (2-2, 3.52 ERA) makes his eighth career start.
SMOOTH SALE-ING
Red Sox lefty Chris Sale (2-7, 3.84) starts against Texas at Fenway Park, looking to duplicate his previous start.
Sale threw a three-hit shutout and fanned 12 at Kansas City last week. In that game, he recorded his second inning this season of three strikeouts on nine pitches, joining Lefty Grove (1928) as the only players to do it twice in a year.
AT LAST
Braves newcomer Dallas Keuchel is set to pitch in a competitive game for the first time this year — in the minors, not yet the majors.
The 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner was supposed to pitch Saturday for Triple-A Gwinnett, but the game was rained out. Instead, he'll start for another Atlanta farm team in Georgia, going for Class A Rome in the South Atlantic League. The 31-year-old lefty is expected to throw 75 to 90 pitches.
Keuchel signed a one-year deal this week that pays him $13 million. The two-time All-Star went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 34 starts last season for Houston.
