The Red Sox are hoping to earn a split in this four-game series and see their talented left-hander bounce back from a bad stretch.
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Boston will try to salvage a split in this four-game series after dropping the last two contests, including a 7-2 defeat last night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. “This was a huge opportunity for us, trying to gain ground on these guys and Tampa Bay,” said third baseman Adrian Beltre. “But unfortunately it didn’t work out the way we wanted.” The Red Sox are now seven games back of the Yankees and 4.5 away in the Wild Card race. The club is now an even 4-4 this month (-340) and 38-25 in August the last three years (+780). Boston has also slipped up against divisional foes in 2010, posting a 21-22 record (-530), with the total being 24-17 O/U in those games. The banged up ball club did receive some encouraging news over the weekend, as second baseman Dustin Pedroia (left foot) has plans of returning to the lineup on August 17
Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester is 11-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 starts this season, but the club has dropped his last four outings. Over that span, he has allowed 17 runs and 31 hits over 26.2 innings of work, but has also garnered 30 strikeouts. The left-hander is 5-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 road starts this season, giving up just two home runs in 66 frames. He will be making just his sixth daytime start, going 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA, while posting a 9-4 mark and 2.74 ERA in 17 nighttime outings. In 10 career starts versus the Yankees, Lester has a 4-1 record and 4.01 ERA, including picking up a 9-3 home win in his last start against them on May 9.
New York improved its record to 7-4 against the Red Sox with last night’s win, as the teams will not play each other again until September 24 after today’s game. Starting pitcher Dustin Moseley filled in for A.J. Burnett in Sunday’s 7-2 win, impressing manager Joe Girardi with his performance. “He attacked the zone and he allowed his defense to play behind him,” Girardi said after the game. Offensively, the Yankees are the first AL team to have five players with at least 50 runs and 50 RBIs. Before last night’s performance, the offense had managed to score just 3.7 runs and hit for a combined .217 average in its previous seven games. The Yankees will be a home underdog of +100 to +125 for the first time this season and just the 11th time in the last three years (4-6, -170). New York is 22-15 this year versus left-handed starters (-180) and 87-57 the last three seasons (+190).
Yankees starting pitcher Phil Hughes is 13-4 with a 3.96 ERA in 20 starts this season, with the club alternating wins and losses in his last five outings. In those games, he has allowed 14 runs and 29 hits over 28.2 innings of work. The right-hander has produced a solid 8-2 record at home in 12 starts, but carries a high 4.94 ERA. He has been bitten by the long ball at Yankee Stadium, giving up 15 home runs in 71 innings. Hughes will be making his seventh daytime start, posting a perfect 5-0 record and 4.21 ERA under the sun this year. In 10 career appearances (four starts) versus the Red Sox, he is 1-2 with a 6.48 ERA, including a 1-0 mark and 5.25 ERA in two starts this year.
Bettors will find the Red Sox being 36-16 in Lester’s last 52 starts versus the division and the over cashing in four of his last five outings against the East. The Yankees are 17-4 in Hughes’ last 21 home starts and the total is 9-2 O/U in his last 11 outings at Yankee Stadium.
