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Phillies 2020 opponent outlook: New York Yankees

By George Stockburger

TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Phillies (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Phillies (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Phillies will face a new-look Yankees team during the 2020 season

An already unique 2020 season will take another turn when the Phillies face the New York Yankees in a four game home and home series in late July.

The 2020 season will be the first time the Phillies play the Yankees four times in the regular season, according to game information provided by Stathead.

Interleague play did not begin until 1997, which was the first time the two teams faced each other in the regular season. The man behind the plate for New York in that game is now the Phillies manager, Joe Girardi.

They first met in the 1950 World Series when DiMaggio/Berra Yankees swept the Ashburn/Roberts Whiz Kids in four games. New York also beat the Phillies in the 2009 World Series in a six game series.

Two of the oldest franchises in American sports, the Phillies and Yankees have split their all-time regular season series 15-15 as well as their last four games. Philadelphia has won 7 of their last 12 regular season games against the Yankees.

The win column is muddled with names like Brett Myers (x2), Clay Condrey Jake Diekman, Jamie Moyer, Ken Giles, and Zach Eflin. Coincidentally, the Phillies lost those other five games with some of their best pitchers on the mound: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels (x2), Brad Lidge, and Jake Arrieta.

Here’s what the Phillies schedule against the Yankees will look like in 2020:

Phillies vs Yankees 2020 schedule

  • July 27, 7:05 p.m. (PHI)
  • July 28, 6:05 p.m. (PHI)
  • July 29, 7:05 p.m. (NYY)
  • July 30, 7:05 p.m. (NYY)

Unsurprisingly, this is also the first time the Yankees have hosted the Phillies for their home opener on July 29.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi will recognize a couple faces in the opposing dugout

The Yankees have made some moves since Joe Girardi left after the 2017 season, including the blockbuster signing of ace Gerrit Cole. Since 2018 they’ve also added two former Rockies; second baseman DJ LeMahieu and reliever Adam Ottavino.

This past offseason the Yankees biggest grab was the talk of baseball when they signed Cole to a nine-year $324 million deal, bringing a guy who grew up a Yankees fan “home.”

Other than adding Cole to the top of their rotation, the Yankees didn’t make any other major moves. They brought Brent Gardner back but allowed Didi Gregorius, Edwin Encarnacion, Dellin Betances, and Austin Romine to walk.

New York also bid farewell to C.C. Sabathia, who retired after 19-year career, the final 11 of which were spent in pinstripes. Jacoby Ellsbury, another former high-profile free agent addition, was released after injuries plagued his time in New York and made him one of the worst free agent signings in team history.

Conversely, the Phillies have added a lot of players in recent years, and most notably some former Yankees. Gregorius, Andrew McCutchen, and David Robertson each swapped out their blue pinstripes for red in the last two years.

Sadly, McCutchen and Robertson’s tenures in Philadelphia have been marked by injuries. Both hope to play some in 2020, though Robertson coming off Tommy John surgery is a bigger question than McCutchen’s surgically repaired knee.

The Phillies will also see some new faces across the diamond

Having not played the Yankees since 2018, the Phillie fans will see some new faces donning the pinstripes.

Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar have played a combined nine games against Philadelphia, while Gary Sanchez and Luke Voit have never seen the Phillies in action.

New York’s outfield of Giancarlo Stanton, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Judge are all plenty familiar with the Phillies. Stanton has hit 27 home runs against the Phillies, the third most against any team in his career after eight years with the Marlins. Gardner is a career .353 hitter in the regular season against the Phillies, but he went 0-10 in the ’09 World Series.

Second baseman DJ LeMahieu is another thorn in the Phillies side from his time in Colorado, picking up 45 hits in 48 games.

With C.C. Sabathia gone, the leader of the Yankees rotation is now Gerrit Cole, who fronts a formidable group with Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and former Phillie J.A. Happ.

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