Tampa Bay to visit New York Thursday

Tampa Bay Rays (56-41, second in the AL East) vs. New York Yankees (60-33, first in the AL East)

New York; Thursday, 3 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Yonny Chirinos (8-4, 3.11 ERA, .95 WHIP, 89 strikeouts) Yankees: Domingo German (11-2, 3.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 90 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays will square off in a doubleheader Thursday.

The Yankees are 32-11 against AL East opponents. New York ranks sixth in the majors in hitting with a .266 batting average, DJ LeMahieu leads the club with an average of .331.

The Rays are 23-19 against the rest of their division. Tampa Bay has slugged .433 this season. Austin Meadows leads the team with a mark of .519. The Yankees won the last meeting 8-3. David Hale recorded his third victory and Didi Gregorius went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs for New York. Colin Poche took his third loss for Tampa Bay.

TOP PERFORMERS: Edwin Encarnacion leads the Yankees with 38 extra base hits and is batting .225. Brett Gardner has 12 hits and is batting .333 over the last 10 games for New York.

Tommy Pham leads the Rays with 98 hits and is batting .281. Nate Lowe is 10-for-29 with a double, five home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.

LAST 10 GAMES: Yankees: 6-4, .258 batting average, 2.65 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs

Rays: 6-4, .273 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs

Yankees Injuries: Luis Severino: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jordan Montgomery: 60-day IL (elbow), Jonathan Loaisiga: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ben Heller: 60-day IL (elbow), Dellin Betances: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jake Barrett: 60-day IL (elbow), Giancarlo Stanton: 10-day IL (knee), Cameron Maybin: 10-day IL (calf), Jacoby Ellsbury: 60-day IL (hip), Troy Tulowitzki: 60-day IL (calf), Greg Bird: 60-day IL (foot), Miguel Andujar: 60-day IL (labrum).

Rays Injuries: Chaz Roe: 10-day IL (hip), Tyler Glasnow: 60-day IL (forearm), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Jose Alvarado: 10-day IL (oblique), Daniel Robertson: 10-day IL (knee), Brandon Lowe: 10-day IL (leg), Matt Duffy: 60-day IL (back), Christian Arroyo: 60-day IL (forearm).