New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays: Paul Blackburn vs. Drew Rasmussen

As far as the afternoon games in early July go, they don’t get much bigger than this one, with the Yankees desperate to avoid a third-straight defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. If they were to lose today, the Yankees would see the gap to the division lead widen to six games, and to avoid that, they’ll need to handle baseball’s best home team: the Rays, who currently have a 33-13 record and are immensely thankful for their return to Tropicana Field.

Considering the Yankees’ offense’s track record of late, the pitching matchup taking place, and the overall momentum of these two teams, one might be able to call this the Yankees’ toughest test of the season. Paul Blackburn and the rest of this team’s bullpen have the mission of outdueling the Tampa Bay Rays ace, Drew Rasmussen. And for anyone familiar with Rasmussen’s record against the Yankees, this challenge is fairly big.

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This will be Rasmussen’s 10th career appearance versus the Yankees, and so far, the right-hander nearly has as many wins (4) as he does earned runs allowed (5), with a track record of 50.2 glorious innings. Imagine now what he might do without needing to face Aaron Judge. It comes as no surprise that Rasmussen’s 0.89 ERA against the Yankees is his best mark against any ball club.

The only Yankee hitter who has been able to handle Rasmussen in a big enough sample size for it to matter is Trent Grisham, 5-for-14 with a home run against the Rays’ starter. Shuffling the lineup somewhat, the Yankees will use Cody Bellinger at first base with Max Schuemann getting the start in left field.

How to watch

Location: Tropicana Field — St. Petersburg, FL

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First pitch: 1:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Rays TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300 AM

Online stream: MLB.tv

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