Tanaka, Yanks eager to play in historic game

June 28th, 2019

LONDON -- tried to spot a few landmarks through the window of a moving vehicle on Friday morning, but there has been no time for sightseeing on what he aptly described as "a business trip." When the Yankees and the Red Sox take the field for the first game played in Europe on Saturday, it will be time for Tanaka to go to work.

"I haven't been able to see much, but being in the car and looking out the window, being able to see what the city is like -- it's kind of refreshing," Tanaka said through a translator. "When I was told that I would be pitching in one of the games, it was honorable for me to be able to go out there and pitch on the historic stage for MLB."

Both clubs went through the paces of a workout on Friday at London Stadium, which was used for the 2012 Olympics and now serves as the home for the West Ham United Football Club. It has been converted into an artificial turf baseball stadium for the London Series, and the Yankees said that they were impressed by the facility's transformation.

"It's cool to be able to get out here and have them see our game," said . "It's been a lot of fun being out here on the 'pitch.' I think it's going to be loud tomorrow."

The field dimensions figure to favor high scoring, with center field 385 feet from home plate, but with a 16-foot wall. That will make for an inviting target, as will the 382-foot markers in the gaps.

"We want to make it an enjoyable experience for the fans," said. "We're going to have a lot of fun. I know we'll have a lot of fun with it being 385 to center field here. Hopefully we'll poke a couple out."

Several players said that they thought the ball was carrying well during batting practice.

"I feel like I'm almost going to be playing on the warning track," said center fielder . "I feel like that's where my 'zero' is. I feel like a lot of guys will be playing a lot deeper here. In the corners, I think it'll play pretty much neutral."

Working in the pitchers' favor will be the large expanses of foul territory, which players described as larger than the Oakland Coliseum. That could be negated by the quick infield, which likened to what the D-backs play on at Arizona's Chase Field.

"The only thing I have to do is catch the ground ball and throw to first," Gregorius said. "As long as I try to get to the ball, I'll do my job."

Cheers for everyone

If Friday's workout serves as an indication, the crowds promise to be energetic and loud for this weekend's games, with fan support largely split down the middle. They will technically be Red Sox home games, though the Yankees are wearing their pinstriped uniforms in both contests.

"The coolest thing is just walking around the city and being with the people," Judge said. "A couple of fans said hello. There's a lot of Red Sox fans. They were great, came up, shaking hands and said hello. Big fans, they say best of luck and went around their day. It was pretty cool. I've enjoyed the past couple of days here."

Hicks said that he expects the crowds to be mostly neutral and positive for the contests.

"I think they're going to be cheering more for the game, for us actually playing out there," Hicks said. "I feel like our experience here as far as us playing in London is the only thing that's different. As soon as the game starts, it's still going to be the same thing. We're still going to be doing what we can to win every single game here."

For openers

Boone has indicated that the Yankees will likely use an opener for Sunday's game, which will permit them to bypass in what could be a power-friendly atmosphere and also offer additional rest to Sabathia. said that he has not been formally told that he is "opening" on Sunday, probably because he may be needed on Saturday.

"If they say we're using an opener, I'll be ready on Sunday," Green said. "You don't want to get too far ahead, just in case. I'm always available to pitch in-between. There's nothing two days out, three days out. I don't mind; I don't really care when I pitch. With our back four at the back end of the 'pen, it doesn't matter to me if I pitch the first inning or the fifth or sixth inning."

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Senior Reporter Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007.