By: Matt Rappa, managing editor 
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Making their spring debuts this afternoon at Bright House Field for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, respectively, are right-handers Charlie Morton and Masahiro Tanaka.
The two teams will square-off for their second of four meetings in Grapefruit League action, with the first occurring in a 13-4, split-squad session victory for the Phillies on March 3.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Yankees (2-2) | Philadelphia Phillies (2-3-1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Masahiro Tanaka | RHP | Charlie Morton | ||
| (2015: 12-7, 3.51 ERA) | (2015: 9-9, 4.81 ERA) | ||||
Tanaka, 27, will pitch against live hitters for the first time since undergoing surgery in October to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.
Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com writes:
Manager Joe Girardi said Tanaka, who had offseason elbow surgery, will throw the customary two innings or 35 pitches in his first outing since taking the loss in the wild-card playoff game to the Houston Astros last October …
Tanaka has been brought along slowly this spring, but threw a 61-pitch bullpen session and a simulated game last week in preparation for his first spring start.
Returning for his third season as a Yankee, Tanaka is 25-12 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.023 WHIP ratio since signing as a free agent through the posting process on Jan. 22, 2014.
Morton, 32, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Dec. 12 in exchange for minor-league right hander David Whitehead. Drafted in the third round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Atlanta Braves, Morton is an early favorite to land a middle-of-the-rotation role for the 2016, behind right-handers Jeremy Hellickson and Aaron Nola.
In seven seasons with the Pirates, the Flemington, New Jersey, native went 41-62 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.427 WHIP ratio.
Starting Lineups:
| New York Yankees (2-2) | Philadelphia Phillies (2-3-1) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | SS | Didi Gregorius | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 2B | Starlin Castro | R | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | DH | Chase Headley | S | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | 1B | Dustin Ackley | L | 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 5 | C | Gary Sanchez | R | 5 | 1B | Brock Stassi | L |
| 6 | RF | Aaron Hicks | S | 6 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R |
| 7 | 3B | Rob Refsnyder | R | 7 | LF | Cedric Hunter | L |
| 8 | LF | Lane Adams | R | 8 | RF | David Lough | L |
| 9 | CF | Slade Heathcott | L | 9 | DH | Andrew Knapp | S |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
What's Next:
Monday, March 7, 2016: at Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:05 p.m.
- Bradenton – McKechnie Field
- RHP Vincent Velasquez (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. LHP Jeff Locke (0-1, 18.00 ERA)
- TV: ROOT SPORTS, MLB.TV; Radio: KDKA-FM 93.7, MLB.com
