Series Snapshot: New York Yankees
New York Yankees (4-2) at Boston Red Sox (0-6)
Fenway Park
Boston, MA
Ready or not, here come the Yankees.
The greatest rivalry in all of sports is about to add another chapter to their already historic battle. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. It just has a great ring to it doesn’t it? I know many sports fans who are not as passionate about baseball as members of Red Sox Nation, and they still get up for a Yanks, Sox series. And throw a little more drama into the mix with a Red Sox team who has yet to win a game and we’ve got all the ingredients for another blockbuster series.
The Yankees enter the weekend series having a record of 4-2, taking two of three in each series against Detroit and Minnesota. They’ve received good starting pitching from their rotation, whom many thought would be disasterous, their offense has been excellent, with key hits when they’ve needed it and their bullpen with Mariano Rivera closing has been outstanding (aside from Rafael Soriano blowing one game). So on paper, really this should be another series for the Yankees to come into Boston and put the boots to the Red Sox. Not so fast, let’s look at the numbers first.
Tale of the Starter’s Tape:
Friday, April 8
New York – Phil Hughes (0-1, 11.25 ERA)
Boston – John Lackey (0-1, 22.09 ERA)
Both pitchers struggled in their debuts this season, getting roughed up by the oppositions power at the plate. Hughes gave up 5 runs in 4 innings against Detroit and more importantly for Sox fans, he struggled with his control.
Lackey was awful in his opener against Texas. 10 hits, 9 runs over 3.2 innings. Ouch. But here’s something to believe in; Lackey was 11-5 with a 4.34 ERA last season at Fenway Park.
Saturday, April 9
New York – Ivan Nova (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
Boston – Clay Buchholz (0-1, 5.68 ERA)
Nova had a good start to his season in his first appearance against the Twins, picking up the win after throwing 6 innings of work. Last season against Boston, Nova only started on game. The result 4.2 innings while surrendering 4 runs. Lifetime against the Red Sox, he’s 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA. Here’s to hoping history repeats itself.
Buchholz was decent in his opener against Texas. He left four pitches up in the zone and the Rangers belted all four for solo homers. Aside from the that, Buch looked to have good command of his pitches, which he’ll need against a tough Yankee lineup. Lifetime against New York, Buchholz is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts.
Sunday, April 10
New York – CC Sabathia (0-0, 1.38 ERA)
Boston – Josh Beckett (0-1, 5.40)
The big man for the Yankees staff is still searching for his first win of the season. Sabathia threw 7 scoreless innings against the Twins in his last outing, only to see the bullpen give up 4 runs and give CC the no decision. Lifetime against Boston, CC is 6-5 with a 3.85 ERA.
Normally, with Beckett opposing Sabathia, this would be a case of the two number one guys going head to head. Not the case this year with Beckett being dropped to the number 4 spot. Although, one could argue that Beckett has been the best pitcher for the Sox thus far. His first outing Beckett went 5 innings while only giving up 5 hits and 3 earned runs. It was a lack of offense that helped Beckett avoid the win. Beckett is 10-7 lifetime against the Yankees with a 6.26 ERA. He has 113 strikeouts in 132.1 innings against the arch rivals.
Red HOT Sox:
Adrian Gonzalez – despite only getting 2 hits against the Indians, a double and a home run, Gonzalez is still batting .304 on the year. He’s the only Red Sox player to be batting above .231 in this early season and is really the only one doing much of anything at the plate lately.
Cold as Ice:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 1 for 14, with 6 strikeouts and an average 0.71. Enough said.
Marco Scutaro – batting .176, he isn’t alone in this category.
Carl Crawford – batting .174 and is struggling mightily. The positives are that he has swiped two bags, so when he does get on base he poses a great threat.
Jacoby Ellsbury – a .167 average, which plummeted from his opening series average.
Kevin Youkilis – batting .105, the Red Sox need to get Youk going if they are to turn this ship around. He’s a vital piece to their offence.
Dennys Reyes – recently designated for assignment, Reyes has been anything but effective. Just another reason to believe that spring training stats mean absolutely nothing.
Hot Bronx Bombers:
Mariano Rivera – not a real surprise to see “Mo” on this list. 4 for 4 in save opportunities so far this year. 4.1 innings, 2 hits and 4 k’s. Typical Rivera fashion.
CC Sabathia – the big lefty has an ERA of 1.38 and has only allowed 3 runs in 13 innings of work. He’ll be tough on the Red Sox on Sunday night.
Who’s Not for New York:
Curtis Granderson – his only home run and RBI came on Opening Day. He’s now batting .158 with six strikeouts.
Brett Gardner – an average of .167 is not good enough from your potential leadoff man.
New York:
– Francisco Cervelli (C) – 15-day DL, fractured left foot. Possible mid-April return
– Pedro Feliciano (P) – 15-day DL, left shoulder discomfort. Mid-april return
– Reegie Corona (2B) – 60-day DL, fractured right elbow. Possible May return
– Colin Curtis (LF) – 60-day DL, dislocated right shoulder. Possible May return
– Damaso Marte (P) – 60-day DL, rotator cuff surgery. Possible All-Star Break return
Boston:
– Felix Doubront – just activated for the home opener.
– Matt Albers – 15-day DL, strained right lat muscle.
– Junichi Tazawa – 60-day DL, torn ulnar collateral ligament
Bold Prediction Time:
I’m calling a Red Sox win today and Sunday night against CC. The Sox will get it going this afternoon thanks in part to 37,000 plus who will back this ballclub to victory. The hitting will awaken, the bullpen will be sharp and the starters will paint the corners. The streak ends now!
The Stat Pack:
– The Red Sox went 48-35 last season at Fenway Park. A .568 winning percentage that was good enough for 8th best in the AL.
– Boston has won their last 6 home openers. Let’s pray this continues.
– Alfredo Aceves joins the bullpen after being recalled from AAA Pawtucket.
– Red Sox all time record against New York, since 1903 (917-1,113-14)
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