This weekend we have yet another installment of the heating Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees rivalry. This rivalry has slowed some in recent years, but with both the Sox and Yanks pushing towards the postseason things have heated up again in 2017. So far, these teams have split their first 15 meetings with New York winning eight and tallying 11 more runs. This will be the last meeting between these two squads unless they matchup in October.
This series will be contested from Thursday, August 31, 2017 through Sunday, September 3, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in New York. The first three games of this four-game series will be shown on MLB Network for those outside the local viewing markets. Sunday’s game will be on ESPN.
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Pitching Matchups
The Yankees have a six-man rotation right now and, of course, the Sox will see the best of the best in this series. Boston, meanwhile, will send a slew of lefties, including Chris Sale in the four games.
In Game 1, we will get a battle of southpaws with the veteran C.C. Sabathia matching up with the talented, but slumping, Eduardo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is the young gun in the Boston rotation and he’s had a bit of an up-and-down season. Overall, the’ 4-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 19 games and his FIP is 3.86 as he’s done well limiting walks, avoiding too many homers and notching strikeouts when needed. He’s struck out 114 in 105.1 innings.
E-Rod, however, did most of his damage early in the year. Since his return from the DL, he’s made eight starts and has a 5.08 ERA. He’s also yet to notch a win since his return.
While his recent trend isn’t great, Rodriguez has thrown well in the Bronx with a 1.38 ERA in four starts.
As for Sabathia, the veteran had his own DL stint—two in fact. Since getting back, he’s made two starts and has allowed three runs in 13 innings. He’s no longer the dominating ace he was when he got to New York, but he’s wily veteran now who knows how to pitch and will still give you quality innings.
The second game will feature two starters who didn’t begin their seasons with their current teams. Sonny Gray is starting for the Yankees against Doug Fister for Boston.
Gray, of course, was the big midseason acquisition for New York while Fister was a waiver claim from the Angels. Gray is the better pitcher, but Fister has been good since coming to Boston. He’s pitched to a 3.41 ERA in his last five starts and has been more than just a fifth starter fill-in.
Meanwhile, Gray has a 2.70 ERA in his five starts with the Yankees. Included in those numbers is a start against Boston, though he was the loser in that game.
As we head into the weekend, we get two intriguing matchups including Drew Pomeranz against Masahiro Tanaka and Chris Sale versus Luis Severino.
Pomeranz has been the next best pitcher to Sale for the Sox and with a 14-4 record and 3.23 ERA, should be given the edge over Tanaka who has been as inconsistent as they come in 2017.
Tanaka’s ERA is a run and a half higher than Pomeranz’s though the Red Sox’s southpaw has the higher WHIP. Tanaka has also thrown back-to-back quality starts while going 7.2 and giving up three runs the last time he went against Boston. Pomeranz held the Yanks to three runs over 10 innings in back-to-back starts earlier this month.
As for the series finale, it’s hard to pick against Sale in any instance, but he allowed four runs against New York last time he faced them. The two times before that, however, he allowed one combined run in 14.2 frames. The Sox are 19-8 when he starts and he’s 15-6 with a 2.77 ERA after a seven-innings shutout against Toronto where he struck out 11, his 17th game of 10 or more Ks this year.
While Severino is an All-Star, too, He was lit up by Boston the last time he faced the, giving up 10 runs in 4.1 innings. He’s been better since then with three straight quality starts, but his 11-6 record and 3.14 ERA—while great—doesn’t match up to Sale.
Slumping Stars
Aaron Judge was the star of the first-half and the main attraction during the All-Star break. He’s still the team leader in WAR and has the league lead in runs, homers and walks. Of course, he also leads in strikeouts.
His overall slash line of .280/.412/.581 is great, but he’s batting .179 with 65 strikeouts in just 41 games during the second half. There are some health concerns that—along with his struggles—cost him a couple games as Joe Girardi opted to sit his young slugger.
Judge is just lost right now, but he will be at home for the series. He’s got a 1.143 home OPS and .863 road OPS. Those splits aren’t as pronounced as his first and second half splits, but they’re still worth noting.
Another first half star, Aaron Hicks, is also been slumping. He’s hitting .167 in 17 games since coming off the DL.
As for the Sox, they really need to get Dustin Pedroia back. He’s back for this series which is great news for Boston. The Red Sox have gotten nothing from the second base position since he went out.
Pedroia is the heart beat of the team now that David Ortiz is enjoying retirement. Perhaps he can spark Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts, all of whom are slumping in the second half.
Suspending the Suspensions
Following the brawl with the Tigers, the Yankees were in a dubious position with both of their catchers receiving suspensions.
Both Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine have appealed the ruling and neither have a date scheduled to hear their suspension. For now, both appear available for the weekend’s rivalry series. Baseball wants both teams at full strength—at least relatively speaking—for the final regular season matchup of its premier rivalry here in 2017.
Sanchez’s availability for the series is particularly key. While Judge has cooled considerably, Sanchez has taken his place—both in the lineup and in the home run column. The Yankee slugger is looking reminiscent of his rookie version at the end of last year. He’s hit 11 homers in his last 26 games and has a 1.001 OPS in that span.
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