BOSTON RED SOX (76-80) at NEW YORK YANKEES (86-70)
Boston has had a disappointing season, but the team has won four straight games coming into this meeting. New York, meanwhile, is 6-4 over the past 10 games and will be looking to win this one in order to move even closer to clinching a spot in the postseason.
BOSTON RED SOX (76-80) at NEW YORK YANKEES (86-70)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Boston +159, New York -174 Total: 8
The Yankees’ magic number to win the wild card spot is just two, so this game is very important. This head-to-head series has been a bit confusing this season, as the Yankees are 10-6 overall but just 3-4 when hosting the Red Sox. They’ll need to find a way to get it done at home in the final two games of this series and they’ll be sending RHP Michael Pineda (12-8, 3.99 ERA, 147 K) to the mound to battle RHP Rick Porcello (8-14, 5.04 ERA, 134 K) for Boston.
Benefiting the Yankees in this matchup is the fact that they are 5-1 against the money line versus an AL starting pitcher with an ERA of 4.70 to 5.20 this season and 19-6 over the past three seasons. They are also 7-1 against the money line when playing a team with a win percentage of 46% to 49% this season.
A ton of key players will be out in this game, as 3B Pablo Sandoval (Pneumonia) and OF Hanley Ramirez (Shoulder) are out for the Red Sox and 1B Mark Teixeira (Shin) is out for the Yankees.
Rick Porcello is coming off of a pretty strange outing on Sep. 23, as he allowed just two earned runs in seven innings in a game where he gave up 11 hits and struck out eight batters. The Rays really got to him, but were not able to capitalize on their opportunities and Porcello will need to do a better job of avoiding base runners against the Yankees on Tuesday. The last time he faced New York was on Sep. 1 and he pitched very well, allowing just one earned run in eight innings of work. He struck out 13 batters in that game as well.
1B Travis Shaw (.280, 12 HR, 32 RBI) was the reason the Red Sox came away with a victory on Monday. Shaw went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in the game. It was the first time Shaw went yard since Sep. 15 and he really needed the confidence boost.
One player to keep an eye on for the Sox on Tuesday is OF Mookie Betts (.292, 15 HR, 72 RBI). Betts has five multi-hit games in the past eight contests, including his 2-for-5 outing with two doubles on Monday. He is also the only player in this Red Sox lineup to have homered off of Michael Pineda in his career.
Michael Pineda has been extremely sharp for the Yankees recently, allowing just one earned run in his past 11.1 innings on the mound. Pineda has been dominant against Boston lately as well, allowing just two earned runs in his 12.2 innings against the team in the two most recent starts he’s made against the Sox. He has struck out 13 batters in those outings as well.
One guy that has been playing well for the Yankees lately is OF Jacoby Ellsbury (.262, 7 HR, 33 RBI). Over the past three games, the outfielder is 5-for-12 with a double and an RBI. He has also owned Rick Porcello in his career, going an absurd 11-for-21 with four homers and four RBI against him.
Another guy who has been good against Porcello is OF Carlos Beltran (.275, 18 HR, 63 RBI). Beltran is 7-for-15 against Porcello, but he has not driven in any runs against him. He’ll need to produce at the plate on Tuesday and do his part in getting this team into the playoffs.
