Whoever emerges as the winner of this three-game set between the Yankees and Phillies will probably have deserved it. That’s because they’ll need to beat the other’s ace in order to do so.
New York and Philadelphia will be coming at their second starts of the year from opposite directions. Gerrit Cole was brilliant on Opening Day last week, recording 10 of the first 12 outs by strikes and finishing with 11 punchouts over six shutout, two-hit innings. Aaron Nola, on the other hand, didn’t manage to make it through the fourth inning of his season opener, getting hit hard by a revamped Rangers lineup to the tune of five runs (all earned) in 3.