It’s rare that a team sees an opponent for the first time in September, but that’s the case for the Yankees, as they’ll host the Texas Rangers for their first matchup of the year. The teams will meet again to close out the season on the final weekend.
The Rangers have had an interesting season, competing for a playoff spot as late as the All-Star break. They have since collapsed now sit 12 games out of the AL Wild Card. They’ll instead look to play the spoiler role against the Yankees.
Tanaka will get the ball for the Yankees to kick off the series, coming off of solid starts in three of his last four appearances.