Rivalry Renewed: Yankees vs. Red Sox Series Preview
After
dropping two of three games to the Texas Rangers in their fourth series loss of
the season, the Yankees now head to Boston as they look to get back on track.
The season debut of the greatest rivalry in all of baseball will feature a
3-game weekend series with Friday and Saturday’s games beginning at 7:10 PM ET
and the series finale beginning at 8:05 PM ET which will be part of ESPN’s
“Sunday Night Baseball.” The Yankees will look for a change of fortunes for an
offense that has been absolutely abysmal to this point in the season. Let’s
take a look into each of the matchups.
GAME ONE: Masahiro Tanaka (1-0 2.92
ERA) vs. Henry Owens (0-1 8.10 ERA)
Once,
again Masahiro Tanaka will have to play “losing streak stopper” for the Yankees
and to this point in the season, he has lived up to the top tier pitcher the
Yankees have expected him to be. After failing to get through 6 innings in his
first two starts, he has gone 7 innings in his last two starts, and has allowed
2 earned runs in each of his starts this season. If Tanaka can keep the ball in
the yard against a dangerous Boston lineup, this is surely a winnable game for
the Yankees against a prospect in Henry Owens who has been less than stellar to
this point. Of course, the Yankee offense is going to have to come to play, but
in a hitter friendly ballpark, game one looks to be a game for the Yankee
offense to break out and pick up a much needed win to open up the series, and
set the tone going into the weekend games.
GAME TWO: Michael Pineda (1-2 6.95
ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (4-0 3.51 ERA)
Game
two of the series will feature two pitchers trending in polar opposite
directions. Michael Pineda has been all over the place for the Yankees, and you
can make the case that he has been the worst starter in the rotation to this
point, which is disappointing considering the high expectations Yankee fans
alike have for him. Pineda owns a career 4.86 ERA against the Red Sox so this
could be a dangerous game for the Yankees. However, Pineda is due for a nice
outing, so maybe the intensity of the rivalry will play to his favor and he can
get back on track.
On
the flipside, Rick Porcello, who struggled mightily in 2015, is putting
together a solid bounce back season thus far in April, and he’s looking more
like the pitcher that Boston invested $80 million in during the 2014-2015
offseason. Porcello’s 4 wins in each of his 4 starts put him in a tie for
second most in the league. Opposing hitters are only hitting .200 off him
(compared to .287 in 2015…ouch) and he has a sub-1.00 WHIP which currently sits
at 0.94. Additionally, Porcello gas 30 strikeouts through 25.2 innings, which
is pleasing for Red Sox fans as Porcello hasn’t ever been much of a strikeout
guy (834 K’s in 1271 career innings).
GAME THREE: Nathan Eovaldi (1-2 4.38
ERA) vs. David Price (3-0 5.76 ERA)
Nathan
Eovaldi – coming off a no-hit bid which he owned through 6 innings – will
square off against Red Sox 200+ million-dollar man David Price. To this point,
Eovaldi has looked like the same pitcher he was in 2015, being inconsistent,
but showing flashes of great stuff (which he showcased in Texas). The key for
him will be to establish the splitter, and use it early and often. He’ll need
to bring his “A” stuff against Boston’s ace David Price.
 |
| Photo Via Tim Heitman-USA Today |
Speaking
of Price, he hasn’t gotten off to the start he perhaps wanted to in Boston
through 5 outings. Despite his ERA of 5.76, the Sox have won all but two of his
starts in 2016 (they lost when he failed to reach 4 full innings and allowed 8
earned runs). To be frank, Price is one of the top 5-8 pitchers in the game,
but he hasn’t lived up to his ace status in 30 career starts against the
Yankees (his most vs. any team). Still Price is 13-7 against the Yankees but
his career ERA of 4.04, and WHIP of 1.30 with Yankee hitters hitting .253
against him are certainly intriguing.
This
is the most interesting game of the series, simply because you’re not sure what
you’re going to get with either pitcher. Eovaldi’s entire career has been a
roller coaster, and the Yankees have a tendency to knock Price out of the game
before the 5th inning in one start, and then he goes out and
dominates them over 7+ innings the next appearance against the Yanks.
FIVE players to watch from each team
Yankees
1. Starlin Castro
The still relatively young second baseman will be
getting his first taste of the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry. Castro still leads
the team in batting average (.289), RBI (12), hits (22) and OPS (.794). He also
has just 11 strikeouts through 20 games, the fewest of any Yankee regular so he
will look to stay in the groove he’s been in during the first few weeks of the
season.
 |
| Photo Via NY Daily News |
2. Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod got off to an incredibly slow start to the
season, and it has caused him to lose some of the fan support that was so
prominent last season. With that said, he is coming off a game in Texas where
he went 3-3 with a walk including his 3rd homer of the season. Still
hitting .190 on the year, Rodriguez will look to build on his good game in a
ballpark that he has enjoyed a lot of success in through the years.
3. Masahiro Tanaka
To this point in the season, Masahiro has been the
Massive-Hero that Yankees fans so desperately desired when he was signed to his
lucrative contract. Through four starts, he sits contently with a sub-3.00 ERA
at 2.92 and has allowed 2 earned runs in each of his first four starts.
Although he hasn’t gotten much run support (none of the Yankee pitchers have),
he’s enjoyed a fantastic start for the Yankees. He’ll get the ball in game one
on Friday night looking to get the Yankees back on track heading to the
weekend, and I expect nothing short of a solid outing from the Yankees number 1
starter.
4. Dellin Betances
Believe it or not, Betances actually gave up an earned
run on a solo home run in Texas, so his ERA now sits at an adequate 0.90. There’s
no way around it, Betances has been nothing short of dominant in the
early-going on the season which is what Yankee fans have been accustomed to.
His repertoire of a fastball in the upper 90s as well as a knee buckling
curveball have been lethal out of the pen. If the Yankees can get a lead, then
hand the ball to Betances and Miller, they’re going to be in good shape.
5. Andrew Miller
Just like Betances, Andrew Miller has also been
dominant this season. He too has a fastball that sits in the mid-upper 90s and
a slider that he can bury on righties, and have lefties reaching out of the
zone on to generate strikeouts. If he’s in the game, the Yankees are probably
going to win the game, so the key is getting the ball into his hands.
 |
| Photo Via Jim McIsaac/Getty Images |
Red Sox
1. David Price
David Price will make his first start against the
Yankees as a member of the Boston Red Sox in primetime on Sunday Night
Baseball. For most Yankee fans, we hated to see Price go to Boston and now the
Yanks will be tasked with trying to rough him up against his home crowd. Price
will look to shine bright under the lights at Fenway on Sunday.
 |
| Photo Via Maddie Meyer/Getty Images |
2. Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia has enjoyed a very nice start to the 2016
campaign as he’s hitting .333 with an OPS of above .900. Pedroia has been a
thorn in the Yankees side over the years as he seems always play his best when
the Yankees come to town. The Yankees are going to have to contain him if they
want to win the series.
3. Mookie Betts
Betts is a guy who simply does it all for the Red Sox.
He hits for average, power, runs well and plays a great outfield for the team.
He had a slow start to his season but he seems to be picking up steam heading
into the weekend against the Yankees. He’s always a tough out, so when he gets
on base, he’s going to look to wreak havoc on the base paths.
 |
| Photo Via Mike L. Baer-USA Today |
4. David Ortiz
In his last season in the league, all eyes are going
to be on David Ortiz, especially when he plays the New York Yankees. He’s
caused Yankee fans alike an immense amount of pain in his career with the Sox
and at 40 years old, he looks to continue doing that. He’s shown no signs of
slowing down as he’s off to a great start, so the Yankee pitchers will attempt
to cool him off this weekend.
5. Travis Shaw
Pablo who? Shaw has been no short of Shawesome for the
Sox so far this year (forgive me for my bad pun). As a guy who mans both corner
infield positions, he’s also hitting a ton with a batting average well over
.300 and an OPS well above .900. to this point in his career, he’s been a
streaky player but if he can sustain this pace, he’s a very dangerous player in
the middle of the Red Sox batting order.
Three keys to a series victory for the Yankees
1. HIT WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION
The has been the storyline to the Yankees season so
far. Their struggles with runners in scoring position are eye opening to this
point, but the hope is that they can turn it around. Believe it or not, the
Yankees have scored 3 runs or less in 15 of the 20 games. That is unacceptable
and the Yankees have to score more runs going forward. It starts with hitting
with runners in scoring position, and we hope it starts this weekend.
2. Get a Yankee starter through the seventh inning
Another storyline on the season so far has been the
lack of depth that Yankee starters have given the team. Aside from Masahiro
Tanaka (twice) and Nathan Eovaldi during the no-hit bid he took into the 7th,
no Yankee starter has gotten through 7 innings this year. Obviously we aren’t
expecting every Yankee starter to get through 7 innings this weekend, but if
Tanaka can do it to relieve the stress off of the bullpen, that would go a long
way in keeping arms fresh in the pen and winning the series.
3. Knock David Price out of the game in the 4th inning or
earlier
Game 3 will likely be the rubber match of the series
and at first glance, things look rather bleak for the Yankees here. However,
there is that room for optimism because of Price’s previous struggles with the
Yankees. So, if the Yankees frustrate him early, the Yankees should get the win
in game three. If not, it could be another painful night watching the Yankee
offense.
Prediction
Simply because I want to remain optimistic, I will go
ahead and say that we should expect the Yankees to take two of three in this
series with the Red Sox. I think Tanaka will have a great outing in the opener
to get the Yankees in the win column. Additionally, I think Michael Pineda is
“due” for a good outing and Rick Porcello is “due” for a mediocre outing. If
the Yankees can sustain the momentum from a hopeful game one win into game two,
they’ll be looking at completing the sweep in Fenway on Sunday. Unfortunately,
I expect Price to be electric in his first outing in the rivalry and that is
the game that the Red Sox have the best chance of winning.
Article by: Chad Raines
Follow me on twitter @Chad_Rain
Follow the BBB on twitter @BronxBomberBlog
Comments
Post a Comment