7:10 PM EST – Money Line: Red Sox -272, Run Line: 8.5
After spending over a week on the Disabled Lost, Sabathia looks to get back into the swing of things in lieu of the Playoffs.
Baseball’s most storied rivalry gets another entry tonight as the Boston Red Sox host the New York Yankees in the second meeting of a three-game set from Fenway Park, with both teams vying for the division crown. At the moment, the Yankees (65-56, 2nd in AL East) sit in an oddly comfortable position in the standings; with last night’s 9-6 defeat, they currently trail the Red Sox by five games in the American League East, but nonetheless possess a firm grip on the league’s first Wild Card, pacing the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels by 3.5 games. Joe Girardi’s charges have been largely treading water for the past two weeks, winning six of their last eleven contests, but falling short in the first leg of their current trip to Fenway Park Friday Night. Falling behind early, the visiting side went to work in the Sixth and Seventh frames, as midseason acquisition Todd Frazier (.211 BA, 20 HR, 56 RBI) pelted a two-run homer, followed by a solo shot courtesy of Gary Sanchez (.276 BA, 23 HR, 65 RBI), before eventually taking a commanding 6-3 lead heading into the bottom half of the Inning. However, that’s when everything fell apart for New York, who witnessed their Bullpen collapse, as the hosts routinely got on base in the Seventh and Eighth, as Reliever Tommy Kahnle (2.61 ERA, 11 HLD) took the loss, allowing a pair of runs on three hits in 2/3 of a stanza. Fearsome Closer Aroldis Chapman (4.29 ERA, 16 SV) didn’t fare any better, serving up another two runs on as many hits. Taking the mound tonight for Girardi and Co. is CC Sabathia (9-5, 4.05 ERA), who will be making his return from a 10-day stint on the Disabled List after experiencing inflammation in his Right Knee. The big Lefthander was given the OK from the Coaching Staff after tossing a Bullpen Session before Monday’s Subway Series with the New York Mets. As you can imagine, Management has been very cautious with the veteran who has undergone two major knee surgeries to repair his right knee since 2014, including the most recent procedure occurring this past Offseason. Injuries have hit the Yankees’ Rotation hard of late, and as they continue to chase the Red Sox in the AL East (not to mention fend off competition for the Wild Card), a return to health on the mound is imperative to their success. It’s been many years now since Sabathia has been anything close to the dominant ace that won twenty-one games (2010) or earned the Cy Young award (2007), while propelling New York to their most recent World Series Championship back in 2009. Injuries, age, and off-field issues have taken quite a toll on the 37-year old, who since 2014 has gone just 27-31, while posting a 4.34 ERA and 1.367 WHIP, and averaging 2.56 Strikeouts per Walk. However, the 2017 campaign has provided more than a few glimpses of the ace that he used to be, for Sabathia has logged a .643 Win Percentage in nineteen starts, a 1.309 WHIP, and an average of 8.4 Hits per Nine Innings, which all represent his best marks since 2012. Granted, he’s not striking out opposing batters nearly as frequently as he’s done in the past, for his 7.0 Strikeouts per Nine Innings and by extension his 2.11 K/BB Ratio are his worst since 2004. It’s interesting that Girardi is allowing tonight’s meeting at Fenway Park to be the 6-time All-Star’s moment of return, but then again, given the Lefty’s history against Boston, and his reputation as a big game pitcher, there may indeed be no time likes the present. In three starts at Fenway from 2014 to 2016, he has gone 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA, permitting eight runs on eighteen hits, including a pair of home runs over the course of seventeen innings of labor. Red Sox hitters have batted .269 against him, with Sabathia striking out sixteen and walking eight.
Sale has been nearly untouchable in 2017, lading the AL in ERA, Strikeouts, WHIP, and K/BB Ratio.
Meanwhile, after a largely mediocre run coming out of the All-Star Break, the Red Sox (70-51, 1st in AL East) have caught fire and starting to look proper contenders for a World Series Championship. John Farrell’s charges have now won thirteen out of their past fourteen games, allowing them to stretch their lead over their hated division rivals to five games, with home field throughout the American League Playoffs appearing to be an attainable goal. One of the main reasons that this team struggled so out of the Break was due to their inability to put runs on the board, but thankfully that has changed for Boston, who as we saw in their 9-6 victory over the Yankees Friday Night, have awoken with bat in hand. The home side got off to a quick start, with a pair of home runs courtesy of Rafael Devers (.356 BA, 7 HR, 15 RBI) in the Second followed by Christian Vazquez (.286 BA, 3 HR, 24 RBI) in the Fifth, to take a 3-0 lead. However, the Pitching Staff crumbled early, as Drew Pomeranz (12-4, 3.31 ERA) was pulled after just 3.1 innings of labor due to back spams, relived by the likes of Brandon Workman (1.46 ERA, 1 HLD), Matt Barnes (3.51 ERA, 21 HLD), and Joe Kelly (2.52 ERA, 11 HLD), and Heath Hembree (3.63 ERA, 14 HLD), with the latter three arms getting bashed for six runs on seven hits, including a pair of home runs in just 1.1 innings. Then again, the Seventh Inning was quite the spectacle, as it featured a combined eight runs, six pitchers, and a pair of lead changes in one hour and five minutes of play. Mookie Betts (.268 BA, 18 HR, 76 RBI) drove Vazquez home on a sacrifice fly, while Andrew Benintendi (.278 BA, 17 HR, 68 RBI) brought Jackie Bradley Jr. (.255 BA, 13 HR, 49 RBI) home shortly thereafter with a Single to Right Field, before Eduardo Nunez (.319 BA, 8 HR, 44 RBI) logged an RBI Single of his own allowing the Red Sox to retake the lead. Finally, Bradley logged another hit which scored tow more runs to put the game out of reach n the Eighth frame, as the Bullpen got it together and sealed the deal. While this team isn’t hitting the ball out of the park, it’s finding ways to manufacture runs, which at the end of the day will go a long ways towards helping their Pitching Staff out, particularly the man expected to start tonight. Marching out to the hill for Farrell and Co. is Chris Sale (14-4, 2.51 ERA), who must be relishing another opportunity to dominate the Yankees, which he did in frighteningly impressive fashion in their last meeting a week ago. In last Sunday’s 3-2 victory in the Bronx, the Lefthander was damn near flawless, permitting just one run on four hits, while striking out twelve batters and walking just a pair over the course of seven innings. However, he failed to earn the decision, as the hosts battled back to make things very interesting late, marking the eighth time this term in which the 28-year old has failed to earn a victory despite yielding two runs or less. Now, that can be attributed directly to lack of Run Support provided by his teammates, but anyone that sees this guy work can tell you that Boston got everything they paid for an more when they plucked him off the market this past Winter. In his first campaign in Boston, Sale has posted a career-high .778 Win Percentage, while leading the American League in a slew of categories including ERA (2.51), Strikeouts (241), WHIP (0.879), Walks per Nine Innings (1.7), Strikeouts per Nine Innings (12.9), and K/BB Ratio (7.77). Furthermore, he’s inserted himself firmly as a new fixture in the Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry; though he has yet to earn a victory in three meetings this season, Sale has dominated with a miniscule 1.19 ERA, allowing three runs on fifteen hits, while racking up a staggering thirty-five strikeouts in comparison to a paltry four walks. Oh, and the Bronx Bombers could only muster a .188 batting average against this guy. Just give him the Cy Young already…
