The New York Yankees head to South Beach on Friday night to get set for a three-game interleague series with the Miami Marlins. The Yankees are currently battling the Red Sox for last place in the AL East despite both teams having a winning record at the moment. The Marlins have struggled since the All-Star break and now find themselves in third place in the NL East Division. The pitching matchup on Friday night will be Yankees' lefty Nestor Cortes (5-2, 4.97) taking on Marlins' lefty Jesus Luzardo (8-6, 3.52). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM EST.
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It has been a challenging season in the Bronx thus far with the Yankees battling to stay relevant in a crowded AL East Division. The Yankees have struggled with poor hitting, injuries, and a lack of consistency on their way to a record that is barely over .500 with less than two months to go in the season. The team has had to play without several pitchers on their staff for various points during the season as well as the loss of 2022 MVP Aaron Judge for a large chunk of the season. Judge has returned recently and the Yankees pitching has gotten healthier so there is still hope of a late season push. On Wednesday night, the Yankees lost the series finale 9-2 as starting pitcher Luis Severino continued to struggle. Severino allowed five hits and four runs in just two innings of work coming out of the pen for the first time this season in an attempt to change his fortunes.
Clarke was cookin' ??
Presented by @Delta pic.twitter.com/AijMu2R35j
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 9, 2023
The Yankees will give the ball to lefty Nestor Cortes, who just recently returned from a long stint on the IL, in the series opener against the Marlins. Cortes is 5-2 in 12 starts this season including three quality starts. He has allowed 59 hits in 63.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 4.97. Cortes has a K/9 rate of 9.5 and his WHIP stands at 1.25. In his first outing off of the IL against Houston, Cortes went four innings and allowed just one run and one hit while striking out eight batters working on a pitch count. He will likely be pushed a bit more in this start.
Key Injuries: 1B Anthony Rizzo is out.