In so many ways, this is the most important game of this series. The Yankees have split this four game set 1-1, desperately need at least a split, and have Nestor Cortes on the hill. Although the funky lefty hasn’t quite been what the Yankees wanted so far this year, we know how good he can be when he’s on and how much he can help the club in terms of playoff standing.
For Nestor, the big problem has been a major spike in fly ball rate, in fact the highest such rate in baseball, a bad sign when the baseball seems wound a little too tight and the Rays lead the world in home run rate.