GameDay Preview: Rays Turn to Ryan Yarbrough to Start Off Series With Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New Yankees starter Nestor Cortes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season, but the Tampa Bay Rays have hit well against him in the past.

They'll need to do it again on Thursday night, and that's the biggest challenge as the Rays and Yankees start a four-game series at Tropicana Field. The game starts at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Ryan Yarbrough gets the call for the Rays. Here's how to watch Thursday's game, with TV information and starting lineups and more:

How to watch Yankees at Rays

Who: New York Yankees (31-13) at Tampa Bay Rays (26-17)
When: 6:40 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 26
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
TV: Bally Sports Sun
Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 89
Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
Latest line: The New York Yankees are favored at minus-118 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Thursday afternoon. The Rays are plus-100. The over/under is 6.5.

Projected starting pitchers

Yankees left-hander Nelson Cortes: Nestor Cortes has been nasty so far for the Yankees. He's 3-1 with a 1.80 earned run average and allowed two runs or less in his first seven starts. He gave up a three-run homer Jose Abreu in his last start, the first time he had given up more than one run in an inning all year. He has faced the Rays seven times, with two starts. He is 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA in 21 innings of work.
Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough: Ryan Yarbrough gets the start for Tampa Bay, coming of a decent outing last Friday at Baltimore. He came in after opener Jalen Beeks and pitched four innings, allowing one earned run. He's 0-0 with a 4.20 ERA this season, but has a great history against the Yankees. He's 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA over 37 1/3 innings in nine appearances, one as a starter.

Projected lineups

Yankees lineup: Aaron Judge CF, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Gleyber Torres 2B, Miguel Andujar LF, Joey Gallo RF, Isiah Kiner-Falefa SS, Jose Trevino C, Matt Carpenter DH, Marwin Gonzalez 3B, Nestor Cortes P.
Rays lineup: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco DH, Harold Ramirez 1B, Randy Arozarena LF, Manuel Margot CF, Isaac Parades 2B, Mike Zunino C, Taylor Walls SS, Vidal Brujan RF, Ryan Yarbrough P.

Newsy nuggets

No. 1 — Franco to DH: Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco is the designated hitter on Thursday night as Kevin Cash tries to monitor his work load. Cash said he expects Franco, who's been battled quad and hamstring, to play shortstop the next three games and the DH was just about ''staying ahead of'' and strain on his legs.
No. 2 — Winning the series: Last year the Rays won the season series 11-8, but were just 4-5 at Tropicana Field. The Rays three of the final four games in the series in 2021, outscoring the Yankees 30-6.
No. 3 — Bronx Bombers: The Yankees have been thumping away during their hot start. They've hit 63 home runs so far, the most in the majors. Center fielder Aaron Judge leads the majors with 17 home runs, no one else has more than 12.
No. 4 — Tough in the clutch: The Rays will have to take advantage of scoring opportunities on Thursday night, but it won't be easy. Opposing hitters are batting just .183 against Yankees pitchers with runners in scoring position.