Yankees Preview: The Start of Four at the Trop

Published July 6, 2026 at 3:39 PMUpdated August 5, 2026 at 10:08 AM2 min read

Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at Tropicana Field — MLB: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

TAMPA, Fla --- This is the biggest week of the Yankees' season by far. Sitting four games back of the Rays in the AL East, they embark on a four-game series at Tropicana Field looking to gain some ground in the division. If the Yankees can at least split the series, it would help them in the second half make up the deficit.

The issue for the Yankees is the lineup has struggled for an extended period of time. The lineup needs to show signs of life in this series. They have not hit a lick over the past two weeks, and that needs to change this week, starting with the big three in their lineup: Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt.

First pitch tonight will be at 6:40pm on YES and the Gotham Sports App.

Yankees Lineup

The Yankees are going with their best defensive lineup, with Trent Grisham in center, Josè Caballero at shortstop, Jazz Chisholm Jr. (returning from a toe issue yesterday) at second base, and Ryan McMahon at third base. Ben Rice will DH with Paul Goldschmidt at first base. The team was successful with this lineup Friday, and the hope is they can repeat that again.

The Yankees will be sending their ace, Cam Schlittler, to the mound. Schlittler is coming off his career-worst outing last time against the Tigers. We all know Schlittler is a fastball-primary pitcher, and the Rays should be a solid matchup, with them struggling against fastballs. It is essential for Schlittler to have a good outing to start this series. If Schlittler wants to name himself the ace of this staff, tonight is a must-win game for him.

Rays Lineup

The Rays are starting Griffin Jax tonight. It will be the first time Jax will face the Yankees as a starter in his career. For the Yankees, they need to be on the attack in this game against Jax. They need to get back to the basics, get into some long at-bats, put pressure on Jax and the defense, and score first. If they do that, it should be a good game and a big one for the Yankees to win.

Other Pregame Notes

Max Fried threw a live session yesterday. He will throw another live session this week before the team makes a decision on a potential rehab assignment.