There aren’t many baseball teams better than the 50-37 Tampa Bay Rays, but the 55-29 New York Yankees certainly qualify. They’ll play their last game before the All-Star break this Sunday at the Trop, beginning at 1:10 PM ET on TBS. Charlie Morton (2.36 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay opposite James Paxton (4.09 ERA) in a quality pitching matchup.
Morton is having an incredible season for the Rays after coming over from the Houston Astros in free agency – he’ll be making his second appearance in the Midsummer Classic. However, Tampa hasn’t taken full advantage of Morton’s talents, going 11-7 in his 18 starts; seven of those ended in a No Decision for Morton, with the Rays winning just twice. This is despite a full five runs of support per game and arguably the best bullpen in the majors.
The Yankees are 9-5 behind Paxton thus far, giving the southpaw from British Columbia an ample 6.21 runs per game – and their bullpen is performing very well, too. But his level of play isn’t quite what New York expected when they sent three prospects to the Seattle Mariners for Paxton back in November, after three dominant seasons in the Pacific Northwest.
