New York Yankees (23-15, second in the AL East) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (23-14, first in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Yankees: CC Sabathia (2-1, 3.20 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 21 strikeouts) Rays: Ryne Stanek (2-1, 2.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: AL East rivals Tampa Bay and New York will face off at Tropicana Field.
The Rays are 7-7 against opponents from the AL East. Tampa Bay ranks eighth in the MLB in hitting with a .255 batting average, Brandon Lowe leads the club with an average of .297.
The Yankees are 7-2 against division opponents. New York has hit 55 home runs this season, ninth in the American League. Gary Sanchez leads the club with 11, averaging one every 8.1 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lowe leads the Rays with 22 RBIs and is batting .297. Ji-Man Choi is 6-for-32 with a double, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Gleyber Torres leads the Yankees with 14 extra base hits and is slugging .448. Gio Urshela is 9-for-26 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 5-5, .256 batting average, 2.67 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Yankees: 6-4, .232 batting average, 3.52 ERA, outscored by two runs
Rays Injuries: Hunter Wood: 10-day IL (shoulder), Tyler Glasnow: day-to-day (forearm), Jose De Leon: 60-day IL (elbow), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Joey Wendle: 10-day IL (wrist), Matt Duffy: 60-day IL (back), Mike Zunino: 10-day IL (quad), Michael Perez: 10-day IL (oblique).
Yankees Injuries: Luis Severino: 60-day IL (shoulder), James Paxton: 10-day IL (knee), Jordan Montgomery: 60-day IL (elbow), Ben Heller: 60-day IL (elbow), Dellin Betances: 60-day IL (shoulder), Aaron Judge: 10-day IL (oblique), Aaron Hicks: 10-day IL (back), Jacoby Ellsbury: 60-day IL (hip), Troy Tulowitzki: 10-day IL (calf), Didi Gregorius: 60-day IL (elbow), Greg Bird: 10-day IL (foot), Giancarlo Stanton: 10-day IL (bicep).
