New York @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2016 ) NY Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 3

Masahiro Tanaka is seeking to notch a career high in victories as he takes for mound for the visiting New York Yankees on Wednesday night in the second of a three-game series versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Tanaka has been spectacular down the stretch, going 6-0 over his last eight outings and is undefeated in seven starts against Tampa Bay.

Tanaka will be facing the Rays for the fifth time this season and takes a lifetime mark of 5-0 with a 2.42 ERA in seven starts against them into Wednesday's matchup. While Tanaka has been the mainstay of the pitching staff, rookie catcher Gary Sanchez continues to carry New York's offense. Sanchez clubbed a three-run homer in Tuesday's 5-3 victory -- his third in as many games and 17th in 42 contests this season -- to snap the Yankees' five-game skid and pull them within 3 1/2 games of the American League's second wild card. Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria is 12-for-26 during a six-game hitting streak, but he has only two hits in 20 at-bats against Tanaka.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 2.97 ERA) vs. Rays RH Alex Cobb (1-0, 3.06)

Tanaka was superb again in his last outing, giving up one run on four hits over seven innings in the opener of a crucial four-game series at Boston, only to watch his bullpen unravel in the ninth in a stunning 7-5 defeat. Tanaka has yielded only six runs over his last six starts, including a dominant performance against Tampa Bay on Sept. 10 in which he struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Kevin Kiermaier is 4-for-8 versus Tanaka.

Cobb earned his first victory in nearly two years, permitting only one run on two hits over 6 2/3 innings at Toronto last time out. It was the third start of the season for Cobb, who missed all of 2015 due to Tommy John surgery and didn't make his season debut until Sept. 2 against the Blue Jays. Cobb lost at Yankee Stadium, surrendering a pair of homers to Brian McCann and four runs in six innings to fall to 5-2 with a 2.13 ERA against New York.

WALK-OFFS

1. Rays OF Steven Souza Jr. is have season-ending hip surgery Wednesday.

2. Sanchez is only the second player since 1900 (Wally Berger, 1930) with 17 homers in his first 44 career games.

3. Rays UTIL Nick Franklin had an MRI exam on Monday that revealed a moderate strain of his hamstring.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Rays 2