AL Weekend Preview

The New York Yankees are sitting alone atop the American League (AL) by over 10 games. Although the Yankees have a firm grip on first, the rest of the league is neck and neck going into a weekend full of conference matchups.

Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays (53-46) host the Cleveland Guardians (50-48) for the first three-game series at Tropicana field on Friday.

Projected starters for the opening game are right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber for the Guardians while left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs is expected to get the nod for the Rays.

The Rays have won 6 of the last 7 meetings against the Guardians and look to keep things rolling after only a 2-5 record since the All-Star break.

New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals

The Yankees finally return home after having to travel across the city for a series against the Mets and will now host the Royals. With the Yankees sitting atop of the AL East with a record of 67-33 and the Royals in the middle of another losing season at 39-60 is good enough for last in the AL Central.

The projected starting pitchers for Friday’s night matchup are Gerrit Cole for the Yankees and Kris Bubic for the Royals. In the opening game of this series, Thursday, Gator legend Brady Singer pitched lights out for seven innings leading up to an Aaron Judge walk-off home run in the ninth.

ALL RISE! pic.twitter.com/rHLuBShd4e

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 29, 2022

The Royals will look to dethrone Aaron Judge and his jury in an effort to take down the Yankees at home.

Detroit Tigers vs Toronto Blue Jays

The Detroit Tigers (40-60) fell in the series opener on Thursday to the Toronto Blue Jays (55-44). The Blue Jays have won three of the last four against the Tigers and look to keep things rolling.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1552836556557357056

The expected pitchers are Bryan Garcia for the Tigers while the Blue Jays will have Alek Manoah take the bump. Manoah has lost his previous two home starts for the Blue Jays.

Houston Astros vs Seattle Mariners

The Houston Astros (64-35) will travel to Seattle to face the Seattle Mariners (54-45) Friday. The Mariners are coming off of a one-run win against the Texas Rangers while the Astros are coming off of a loss to the Oakland Athletics.

The expected pitchers for the game are left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray for the Mariners and Houston Astros’ star right-hander Justin Verlander.

Tune in for American League baseball all weekend!