The 2021 NY Yankees are set to begin their season with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium starting on Thursday, April 1 at 1:05 EST. Game 1 is the earliest scheduled game of the entire 15 game slate for MLB Opening Day this year and it will be televised on ESPN. Games 2 and 3 will both also have the early 1:05 EST start time and will be played on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4 after a scheduled off-day on Friday, April 2nd.
2021 NY Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays: Pitching Matchups
Here are the scheduled pitching matchups for this three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Game 1: Gerrit Cole vs Hyun Jin Ryu
Gerrit Cole is the ace of the 2021 NY Yankees staff and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Over his last three years, he has been nothing short of sensational. In each of those past three seasons, he has pitched to a sub-3 ERA and has averaged over 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He has also finished in the top five in AL Cy Young voting four times in his career and will be hoping to finally win the award this upcoming season. His campaign begins here against the Jays.
Cole will be facing off against Hyun Jin Ryu, who is a contender heading into this season to win that same award as well. Ryu finished third in the voting for the award last year and also came in second place back in 2019 for the NL Cy Young as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Game 2: Corey Kluber vs TBD
Someone who has won the AL Cy Young, twice actually, will get the start for the 2021 NY Yankees in game two. That pitcher is Corey Kluber and he will be looking to bounce back in a big way after being injured for almost the entirety of the past two years. He has looked strong and healthy so far in spring training and hopes that momentum can be carried into the regular season. If he can avoid injury this year and return to some version of his usual form, he can be an enormous contributor to the 2021 NY Yankees success.
Game 3: Domingo German vs TBD
After missing the entire 2020 season because of a suspension, Domingo German is back with the 2021 NY Yankees and slated to start the third and final game of this opening series. He was in a spring training battle with other some pitchers, mainly Deivi Garcia, for a spot in the starting rotation and he was impressive enough to win the job. He will be looking to put the suspension behind him and get back to business on Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.
Injury Report
2021 NY Yankees
Luke Voit
Luke Voit is projected to be the 2021 NY Yankees every day starting first baseman, but unfortunately, he will not be ready for Opening Day. This opens up a roster spot for Jay Bruce, who will start in place of Voit and add a lefty to this righty dominated lineup.
Zack Britton and Justin Wilson
The bullpen has been such a strong suit for the Yankees in recent years, and it should be again this year. They will start the season missing two key pieces, but they have plenty of worthy arms to pick up the slack.
Toronto Blue Jays
George Springer
One of the top free-agent signings this past offseason, George Springer was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays with hopes to bring this team to another level. He figures to be a huge key to their success as the everyday leadoff hitter and centerfielder, but his status for Opening Day is in serious question. If he is unable to play, Randal Grichuk would be the likely replacement in centerfield while either Cavan Biggio, Marcus Semien, or Bo Bichette could slide into the leadoff spot.
Robbie Ray
It has been officially reported that Robbie Ray will miss the beginning of the season. He likely would have started either game two or three of this series but that is no longer the case.
Play Ball!
The long wait is finally over and MLB Opening Day is here. It’s a brand new season and it all starts with an afternoon showdown between the 2021 NY Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Main image credit: Embed from Getty Images
