MLB Game Preview - NY Yankees at Tampa Bay

Sun Apr 2, 2017 1:10 PM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. -- If the Tampa Bay Rays are to be a different team in 2017, it can start with Chris Archer on Opening Day against the New York Yankees.

Archer has pitched twice on Opening Day, losing in each of the last two seasons. That familiarity will help him as he looks to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season.

"It's a mentality, just like anything else in life," Archer said of taking the mound on Opening Day before a sellout crowd at Tropicana Field. "It's all about perspective. The good thing about this being my third one is I've done it before. I'm looking forward to getting at them and taking the team with the other eight guys."

Archer went 0-3 against the Yankees last season with a 3.86 ERA and the Rays were 8-11 against New York, finishing with a losing record for the second year in a row.

Archer wound up 9-19, leading the majors in losses, and the Rays finished 68-94 to take a step back and finish last in the American League East.

New York also has a 28-year-old right-hander on the mound in Masahiro Tanaka, but his 2016 was very different from Archer's. Tanaka went 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA and dominated the Rays, going 4-0 with a 2.88 ERA, with twice as many wins as against any other opponent. He's 6-0 in eight career starts against Tampa Bay.

The Yankees finished 84-78 last season, ushering out key veteran players like Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann. They still finished five games out of the wild card, though much of the attention now is on a younger generation of emerging stars like Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge.

"I know we've talked a lot about the youth, but the veterans have to do their job," manager Joe Girardi said of the season ahead. "That is a huge key. All the veteran players do their job, and if we do that, we're going to be in good shape."

Sanchez in particular generated excitement last year, hitting 20 home runs in just 201 at-bats in a phenomenal debut at the end of the season.

"I definitely think I've improved a little bit. It's a result of the hard work," Sanchez said. "We put a lot of work in to becoming a better catcher. I feel very excited, and I want (Sunday) to get here."

The Rays-Yankees rivalry is placed at the beginning and end of the season. After three games this week in St. Petersburg, the teams play three next week at Yankee Stadium but only six games between then and mid-September, when they play two more three-game series in the final three weeks of the season.

The Rays' final road series is against the Yankees on Sept. 26-28, and there's no telling what will be on the line when that begins.