Boston Red Sox (19-20) @ New York Yankees (20-17)
Jon Lester (4-1, 2.96) @ Freddy Garcia (2-2, 2.61)
8:00 PM EDT |Yankee Stadium (New York, NY)
TV: ESPN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
New York: Jorge Posada, stiff back and ego(Day-to-day);Phil Hughes, dead arm (Placed on the 15 day DL on April fifteenth); Eric Chavez, Bruised bone in left foot(Placed on the 15 day DL May 5th); Rafael Soriano, elbow inflammation (Day-to-day); Pedro Feliciano, strained lat muscle(Placed on the 15 day DL before the season began);
Boston:Marco Scutaro, strained left oblique (Placed on the 15 day DL May 8th); Dan Wheeler, strained calf (Placed on the 15 day DL May 5th); Bobby Jenks, bicep soreness (Placed on 15 day DL May 5th, retroactive to May 2nd)
GAME NOTES
What a difference three days can make. After being swept away in Toronto last Wednesday, the Sox look to do the same to the Yankees tonight. Amidst the chaos of Jorge Posada’s refusal to play and the incredible tear Adrian Gonzalez has been on, the Sox can finally even their record to .500 by securing a victory against Freddy Garcia and the Yankees. If Jon Lester can mimic the mastery displayed by Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz the past two nights, the offense won’t have to do much. Lester comes in with a 2.96 ERA after a tough start in Toronto where he struggled to throw strikes consistently. He walked a career high five batters and gave up five runs in only five innings and a third of work. One person he won’t have to deal with tonight is Jorge Posada, who is absent from the lineup for a second consecutive night after being dropped to ninth in the order and asking to be removed. There were multiple explanations for his absence. There were claims from his family that he had a stiff back but the Yankee’s brass hinted otherwise. Andruw Jones starts in his place as the DH, batting seventh. Freddy Garcia will try his hand at taming the Sox lineup. Another insurance pickup for Brain Cashman, Garcia has been strong this year. He’s posted a 2.61 ERA and a 2-2 record in five starts. Completing the sweep tonight will give the Red Sox something they haven’t had for seven years: a three game sweep at Yankee stadium. Even more importantly, it will give them something they haven’t had for forty games: a five hundred record.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrain Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- J. D. Drew, RF
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
New York
- Derek Jeter, SS
- Curtis Granderson, CF
- Mark Teixeira, 1B
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B
- Robinson Cano, 2B
- Nick Swisher, RF
- Andruw Jones, DH
- Russell Martin, C
- Brett Gardner, LF
Stats
-The Sox don’t have great numbers against Garcia, with only one player hitting over .250 against him. (minimum 5 AB’s). That would be Crawford (18 AB’s): .333/.400/.667
-Jon Lester’s 0.7 WAR is good for second on the pitching staff behind only Josh Beckett.
-Jonathan Papelbon’s opponents have a .350 BABIP
-Jason Varitek against Mariano Rivera (35 AB’s): .286/.342/.400 with eight RBI’s.
-This will be the fourth time the Sox have had the opportunity to get to .500 this season.
-The Sox are hitting .261 against left handed pitching (414 AB’s) and .256 against right handers (935 AB’s).
-Lester is working on a 16 1/3 scoreless inning streak against New York. He is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in seven starts in the Bronx.
-Posada’s .165 average is the lowest of any Major Leaguer with at least one hundred at bats.
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