Meaningful September baseball! Yankees @ Red Sox series preview
The
Yankees dropped a heartbreaker by a score of 2-0 to the LA Dodgers yesterday after
Dellin Betances had a ninth inning he would like to forget. The Yankees closer
had an abysmal inning allowing two LA runs to score leading to New York losing
two of three. The Bronx Bombers head North on I-95 for a four game weekend
showdown against their long time rivals the AL East division leading Boston Red
Sox. The Yankees have played their way back into the playoff race along with
Baltimore and Toronto as they all sit just a few games behind the first place
Boston Red Sox. New York could really push themselves even closer to a playoff
spot with a good series against their historic foes. It has been ten years
since both teams were really fighting hard for a playoff spot this late in the
season. Strap in folks there is sure to be some fireworks at Fenway this
weekend, it’s Yanks and Sox with the division title on the line.
GAME ONE: (Thursday, September 15, 2016 | 7:10 PM ET)
Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 3.14
ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7, 4.70 ERA)
The
Yankees will throw their ace on Thursday in an attempt to start the series off
on a high note. Tanaka has been the Yanks’ best pitcher all year long and has
been a model of consistency in an otherwise inconsistent rotation. This is the
type of game the Yankees gave him that big contract for and I think he will
step up and pitch a gem even against a very potent Red Sox offense. Boston will
counter with young Eduardo Rodriguez who has been very up and down throughout
his young career. Two starts ago, Rodriguez had a no-hitter going through eight
innings but then had a poor start his last time out against the Blue Jays. He’s
had fairly good success against the Yankees but has seemed to have trouble
getting out Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who has left the yard three
times against the young southpaw.
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| Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz | USA TODAY Sports |
GAME TWO: (Friday September
16, 2016 | 7:10 PM ET)
Luis Cessa (4-1, 4.34 ERA)
vs. Clay Buchholz (6-10, 5.31 ERA)
I
hope the people in the Green Monster seats brought their gloves for this one
because we could be seeing a large amount of home runs. New York will throw
youngster Luis Cessa who is coming off his first loss of the season. He’s shown
flashes of being a solid pitcher that could contribute to the rotation but the
jury is still out on the young righty. He will be tested against a very patient
Boston lineup that leads the league in runs scored. Cessa will be opposed by
Red Sox veteran Clay Buchholz who has split the year between the starting
rotation and the bullpen. An injury to Steven Wright forced the Sox to put the
32-year-old back into the rotation where he has had mixed results. Buchholz
still has the ability to stymie an offense but as we saw in his last start, he
also has a tendency to implode.
GAME THREE: (Saturday
September 17, 2016)| 1:05 PM ET
Bryan Mitchell (1-1, 2.45
ERA) vs. David Price (16-8, 3.81 ERA)
The
Yankees are sure glad to have Bryan Mitchell back as the young righty spent a
majority of 2016 on the DL. He draws a tough matchup in game three as he’ll be
opposed by the ace of the Red Sox, David Price. Price has been incredible in
his last eight outings making up for early season struggles. New York has hit
the star lefty well in the past and they’ll hope that trend continues in this
crucial series.
GAME FOUR: (Sunday
September 18, 2016)| 8:08 PM ET
CC Sabathia (8-12, 4.10
ERA) vs. Drew Pomeranz (10-12, 3.25 ERA)
The
final game of this series will be nationally televised on ESPN and feature two
southpaws. The Yankees will throw out the veteran lefty CC Sabathia who has
seemingly faced the Red Sox 6,000 times in his eight years in pinstripes.
Sabathia has had a decent year for New York and I think many Yankee fans have
to be happy they’ve gotten as much as they have out of him this year. As was so
many times in the past, the Yanks will ask their work horse lefty to pitch them
to victory over Boston as he has done countless times in the past. The Red Sox
starter will be Drew Pomeranz who has faced the Yankees twice previously in
2016, the first time as a member of the San Diego Padres and the second as a
member of the Red Sox last month.
Pomeranz got shelled in his last game Tuesday against the Orioles and
has a 6.28 ERA over his last three starts. The Yankees will hope his struggles
continue and look to tag him early in the game.
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| Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac |
Three Yankees to Watch:
1. Gary Sanchez- Sanchez has become a fan favorite due to
his majestic long balls and cannon arms. He’s been the guy in the Baby Bombers
youth movement and is a future star in this league. The Red Sox pitching has
been much better in the second half of the season but getting this guy out is
no easy task. Look for Sanchez to put a few dents into the monster this series.
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Photo Credit: Andrew Savulich | New York Daily News
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2. Masahiro Tanaka- The Yankees will be counting on their ace
to get them a win in game one. Every game at this point in the season is
crucial but starting the series off on the right foot in Boston is huge. If
anyone in the Yanks pitching can keep the Red Sox bats at bay, it’s Tanaka.
3. Jacoby Ellsbury- Ellsbury has enjoyed a lot of success at
Fenway Park, of course during his seven years in Boston and the past three in
New York. He’s also hammered Red Sox game one starter Eduardo Rodriguez in his
career. While Sanchez is the Yankees future star, it is Ellsbury who is still
the teams most dynamic player. He can beat teams in so many ways and you know
he’s just itching to take down his old ball club when it matters the most.
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| Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz | USA TODAY Sports |
Three Red Sox Players to
Watch:
1. David Ortiz- I swear Yankees fans, it’s almost over.
Just seven more games (not including playoff matchups) that you’ll have to deal
with this man. Ortiz has made a living of killing the Yankees since joining
Boston in 2003. No tears will be shed from the Yankees or their fans once Big
Papi retires. However it would be typical Ortiz fashion for him to go off and
have a great series to go along with the stellar last year he’s having. As
always, New York pitching is going to have to be very careful every time number
34 steps into the box.
2. Chris Young- Young’s playing time will more than
likely decrease a little bit with young sensation Andrew Benintendi being
activated from the DL, but Young will still be a big performer in this series.
The former Yankee signed a two-year deal with the rival Red Sox in the
offseason and has been everything the Red Sox hoped for. He’s as good a platoon
player as you can find and has played excellent baseball since returning from a
lengthy DL stint. Whether he’s starting or pinch hitting, Young has the type of
power that can play big late in these important September games.
3. Dustin Pedroia- Pedroia has been scorching hot lately. (Seriously,
look at the Red Sox box scores for the past three weeks). It seems like every
game the firecracker 2nd baseman has two or three hits. All the
while, the former MVP has played his usual stellar defense. Pedroia is now the
Red Sox leadoff hitter so if you can contain him you have a better shot at
neutralizing their juggernaut offense.
Prediction:
Both
teams have the potential to go on great runs (we saw New York rattle off seven straight
wins recently) and put themselves in the drivers seat. However, I don’t think
this series is the starting point for either club. I think this series ends up
in a split. The Red Sox will win games two and three while the Yankees will
take games one and four. I expect three of the fours games to be really close
good baseball games. As always seems to happen, there will more than likely be
a blowout in there, but nevertheless, it should be a great series. One good
thing for the Yankees is that they will miss CY Young candidate Rick Porcello
this series. It should be a fun few days at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.
Article
by: Matt C
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