New York Yankees (69-42) @ Boston Red Sox (68-43)
CC Sabathia (16-5, 2.55) @ John Lackey (9-8, 6.23)
4:10 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: FOX RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
There are uneven match ups…and then there’s tonight’s match up. After dropping the first game in a pivotal three game set, the Red Sox look to move back into a tie for first with a win tonight. All they have to do is beat CC Sabathia. Of course, that hasn’t been so easy lately. Sabathia comes into the day with a sparkling 16-5 record and an impressive 2.55 ERA. His last came against the White Sox. Surprisingly enough, he did OK, if you consider eight innings of two run ball and six strikeouts OK. As for the Sox, well, their hopes lie in the hands of John Lackey, and so far, that has never been a good thing. It finally looked like Lackey was starting to turn things around before his last start in which he gave up five runs to Cleveland in 6 2/3 innings while striking out 5. So this is a clear mismatch, let there be no doubt about that. It’s almost so mismatched that something needs to give. and maybe that something is the John Lackey we’ve all been waiting for.
Lineups
Boston
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Mike Aviles, RF
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Marco Scutaro, SS
New York
- Brett Gardner, LF
- Derek Jeter, SS
- Curtis Granderson, CF
- Mark Teixeira, 1B
- Robinson Cano, 2B
- Nick Swisher, RF
- Eric Chavez, 3B
- Jorge Posada, DH
- Francisco Cervelli, C, C
INJURY REPORT
Boston: Clay Buchholz, lower back strain (placed on 15-day DL June 19, retroactive to June 17); J.D. Drew, left shoulder impingement (placed on 15-day DL July 26); Bobby Jenks, strained back (placed on 15-day DL July 16); Jed Lowrie, right shoulder injury (placed on 15-day DL June 17, scheduled to start rehab assignment August 1)
New York: Alex Rodriguez, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery (placed on 15-day DL July 14th)
Stats
-3 of Sabathia’s 5 losses this year have come against Boston.
-Lackey had not had a 1-2-3 first inning this year before his last start.
-Sabathia leads all major league pitchers with a 5.9 WAR.
-The Yankees still lead the league in homers with 146. The Sox rank second with 135.
-Boston has a 1-40 record when trailing after eight innings.
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Enjoy the game everyone. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, we’d love to hear from you.