Four MLB storylines to watch on Memorial Day, including Alex Cora's return to Houston
Monday's packed schedule includes potential playoff previews, a doubleheader, and a likely dominant outing
The United States will observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 31. While any and all of the day's Major League Baseball implications are trivial compared to its actual significance, the holiday has long served as an important one for the regular season. For one, it often signifies that the schedule is a third of the way in; teams' records, then, are now regarded as a reflection of who they are, as opposed to the product of a small sample size.
In addition, Memorial Day is one of the "showcase" days on MLB's schedule, right alongside Mother's and Father's Day and Independence Day. This year MLB will have 14 games on the docket, with the earliest beginning at 1:05 pm on the east coast, and the latest kicking off just before 10 p.m. It's possible to consume more than 12 hours of MLB action throughout the day.
With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports wanted to provide a guide to the day's three biggest storylines and matchups so that you can make informed viewing decisions. Let's get to it.
1. Cora returns to Houston
We might as well start by getting messy. In this case, that means focusing on the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros that is scheduled to begin at 4:10 pm ET. Both teams are in playoff contention, making this a possible preview of things to come in October.
The other reason this game is intriguing is because it marks the first time Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been to Houston since the Astros' sign-stealing scandal was publicized in early 2020.
Cora, who served as the Astros' bench coach prior to becoming Boston's manager in 2018, was implicated as one of the ringleaders in the trash-can-banging scheme by commissioner Rob Manfred. Cora was fired by Boston after Manfred published his findings, and he was subsequently suspended for the entirety of the 2020 season. The Red Sox later rehired him -- that despite having been investigated for their own sign-stealing misdeeds that occurred under his watch.
With all that established, there's no reason to think the Houston crowd will receive Cora poorly because of his past sins. If he's booed, it'll be owed to his current employer. His return does make for a useful reminder of what MLB's biggest story was prior to the pandemic.
2. Rays-Yankees reignite rivalry
As with the Red Sox-Astros game, the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees contest (1:05 pm ET) will serve as a plausible playoff preview. It's also a postseason rematch, given the two sides met last fall for the right to advance to the American League Championship Series.
The Rays won that series, just as they've been winning most of the recent games they've played against the Yankees. Dating back to the start of last season, Tampa Bay is 14-5 against New York, including an 8-2 mark in 2020 and a 6-3 start to this year. The Yankees enter after getting swept by the Tigers, but they did take a series from the Rays earlier in the month.
After this four-game set, the Rays and Yankees won't play again until late July. After that series, the two sides won't see each other until the final weekend of the regular season. If the Yankees are going to even the score in the seasonal matchup, they'll have to do some damage soon.
Oh, and by the way, things tend to get testy between these teams, which adds to the big-game feel.
3. White Sox, Cleveland play two
Given the quality of the American League East, it seems unlikely that the postseason bracket will feature two teams from the American League Central.
That puts an emphasis on winning the Central, and it ratchets up the importance of intra-divisional matchups. As such, the doubleheader between the division's top teams, Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox (3:05 p.m. ET), might offer greater playoff implications than any other game on Monday's schedule.
The two sides are making up the April 21 contest that was rained out, and in the process they're giving us another installment of Carlos Rodón versus the Fightin' Franconas. Rodón has already faced Cleveland twice this season: he threw a no-hitter his first time out, and he held Cleveland to two runs and five hits in start No. 2. The White Sox won both of those contests.
We'll see if Cleveland can get on the board versus Rodón this time around.
4. DeGrom faces Diamondbacks
We'll end by highlighting an intriguing pitching matchup that is set to take place during the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks game (9:40 p.m. ET).
Or, really, the one-sided matchup, in all likelihood. DeGrom comes into the game with a 0.80 ERA, 1.17 FIP and 0.60 WHIP. He has 74 strikeouts and seven walks in 45 innings. He's facing one of the worst teams in baseball, too.
No-hitters are as prevalent as ever this season and this might be too obvious a candidate. Regardless, it's worth tuning in simply to see the extent to which deGrom carves up the Snakes.
