Boston Red Sox Vs. New York Yankees: Lineups, preview, prediction, & channel info (May 9, 2018)


(Photo credit: Chris Ptacek)

The first game of this series was dominated by Giancarlo Stanton. The new Yankees slugger mashed a pair of solo home runs off starter Drew Pomeranz early on, and while the Sox got back on level terms an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh by Aaron Judge was enough for the Pinstripes to take a 3-2 lead and tie up the AL East.

Eduardo Rodriguez (LHP) Vs. CC Sabathia (LHP)

Rodriguez has had a tough start to the year. In his six starts he has a 5.29 ERA, has issued 13 walks and given up six homers. Despite all that he has a 3-0 record and the Red Sox have won each one of his starts. Not really a surprise since he has an average run support of 7.59. Unfortunately, that can't carry on forever. Rodriguez's level of performance has been so poor that Boston need to evaluate his position in the rotation.

As for Sabathia, the big lefty is having something of a renaissance in 2018. He has a 1.39 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in his six starts. While he is averaging just six innings a start and has a tiny 6.4 K/9, the results speak for themselves right now. He has been leaning on his defense, and that can only last so long, especially with a .211 BABIP. Right now things are good though, even as retirement talk swirls.

Projected lineups

Red Sox Lineup
Home Runs
Batting Average
On-Base Percentage
Betts, RF
13
.360
.436
Martinez, LF
8
.346
.392
Ramirez, DH
3
.295
.362
Moreland, 1B
5
.347
.407
Bogaerts, SS
3
.316
.345
Nunez, 2B
3
.238
.268
Devers, 3B
6
.252
.299
Bradley Jr, CF
2
.173
.264
Vazquez, C
0
.196
.253
Yankees Lineup
Home Runs
Batting Average
On-Base Percentage
Gardner, LF
1
.198
.288
Judge, RF
8
.295
.418
Gregorius, SS
10
.301
.388
Stanton, DH
9
.237
.325
Sanchez, C
9
.193
.278
Hicks, CF
2
.231
.347
Andujar, 3B
3
.273
.289
Austin, 1B
5
.247
.321
Torres, 2B
2
.333
.373

Who's hot, and who's not

JD Martinez has been a machine recently, hitting .400 in the last two weeks with four homers and 12 RBI. Arguably better has been Mookie Betts, who is playing like an MVP with seven homers, a .349 average, 13 RBI, and a steal.

The bottom of the lineup has been a graveyard for Boston though, with Rafael Devers, Eduardo Nunez, Christian Vazquez, and Jackie Bradley Jr all hitting under .200 in the last 15 days, JBJ has been truly woeful, with just four hits in his last 43 at-bats.



Giancarlo Stanton's two homers last night served to very much improve his recent numbers. He is hitting .240 over the last two weeks with four dingers and a steal, while Gleyber Torres has been supremely impressive since coming into the lineup. He has hit .370 over the last fortnight along with two homers and a massive 11 RBI. Gary Sanchez has been a home run machine with six over the last two weeks, but he is hitting just .196, while Brett Gardner is even worse in the last 14 days, hitting .133.

Prediction

The Yankees have an edge in pitching tonight, but you get the sense that Sabathia could regress at any moment. A low BABIP and a lack of strikeouts rarely mix well, but at the same time the Yankees lineup is a long ball monster right now, and Rodriguez is not doing a good job of keeping the ball down. It wouldn't surprise me if the Yankees won by 3+ tonight.

Channel info

The game will be broadcast live on NESN and YES, as well as streamed live on MLB.tv for out of market subscribers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET.





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