Boston Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez looks to continue dominance over New York Yankees
By Sean Penney
Eduardo Rodriguez‘s track record against the New York Yankees shows he’s the right man to get the Boston Red Sox back on track.
The latest homestand is off to a sluggish start, as the Boston Red Sox dropped two of three to the Baltimore Orioles. That includes a frustrating 1-0 loss to wrap up the series Wednesday night, pulling the O’s within one game of the division leading Red Sox.
Boston will look to get back on track when they welcome the New York Yankees to town for a four-game set beginning tonight. While he’s certainly not the ace of what has become a formidable rotation, Eduardo Rodriguez may be the best option to send to the mound in order to begin this series on a positive note.
Rodriguez has faced the Yankees six times in his brief career, posting a 4-1 record and a dazzling 1.88 ERA. He has never allowed more than two runs in any of those six starts and has limited the Yankees to a single earned run on four occasions, including both of his starts against New York this season.
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The fist time that E-Rod faced the Yankees this season turned out to be his best start of the year to that point. He lasted seven innings for the first time this season, allowing a run on four hits and two walks to earn his second win.
A few weeks later, Rodriguez performed even better, only for the Red Sox bullpen to blow the lead. Boston would lose that game, but through no fault of E-Rod. The lefty again lasted seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out six.
An August surge fueled by the historic run by rookie catcher Gary Sanchez made the Yankees lineup appear to be a lethal force, as they finished second in the league in runs scored for the month. Their bats have cooled off this month, dropping them back near the bottom of the league in runs scored where they have been for the majority of the season.
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Also working in Rodriguez’s favor is that Thursday’s start is a night game. While this may not seem like a significant factor for most pitchers, E-Rod has had noticeable day/night splits in his career that make you wonder if he’s better served pitching under the lights. Rodriguez is 9-6 with a 3.15 ERA in his career at night, compared to 3-7 with a 5.89 ERA during the day.
The Red Sox can feel pretty confident that Rodriguez can hold the Yankees bats at bay, which is exactly what they need in what is shaping up to be a potentially low scoring affair. Rodriguez will be opposed by Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, who is 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA in his last seven starts.
Boston’s issues with winning low scoring games is well documented, as Rick Porcello found out the hard way last night that allowing even a single run can be enough to be slapped with a loss.
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Clearly the Red Sox lineup needs to contribute something in order to give Rodriguez a shot at the win, but the 23-year old should be counted on to do his part to keep Boston in the game. If their bats wake up from last night’s slumber, the Red Sox have an excellent chance to extend their lead in the division.