Sunday features the eagerly-anticipated conclusion of two huge MLB series. The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox will both be going for the sweep and extend their respective winning streaks. But their opponents, the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, will bring on their most reliable starters as they look to snap their own losing skids.
Find out more about these two top MLB matchups below.
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Despite the return of ace Yu Darvish, the slumping Texas Rangers dropped their fourth game in a row yesterday as they lost 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs. The Rangers have now gone just 3-11 in their last 14 games and are losing ground atop the AL West. Lefty Cole Hamels will look to stop the bleeding when he takes the mound, but he hasn’t had a particularly good July. He’s given up 10 runs on 15 hits in just 8.1 innings over his two starts this month.
He’ll face the resurgent Cubs, who have now won three games in a row after enduring an awful 1-9 stretch heading into the All-Star break. John Lackey is set to get the start for the Cubs. The veteran right-hander has been knocked around a bit in the past month or so. He has a 6.91 ERA over his last five starts, and the Cubs have gone just 1-4 in those five starts.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cubs chase Hamels out of the game en route to a 6-1 win.
Boston’s impressive winning streak continues. The Red Sox have now won six games in a row and seven of their last nine after their 5-2 win over the Yankees yesterday. The Sox will now send David Price to go for the sweep later tonight. The lefty has been a bit of a disappointment thus far in his first year in Boston, but he’s coming off his best outing of the season against the Rays. He threw eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a 4-0 Red Sox win.
On the other side, the Yankees are reeling. With their back-to-back losses to Boston, they’ve now dropped below .500 after the All-Star break for the first time since 1995. They now turn to Masahiro Tanaka to turn their fortunes around. The Yankees have won the last five games Tanaka has started. However, the 27-year-old righty lasted a season-low 4.2 innings in his last start, giving up seven runs (only three earned) on 10 hits against Cleveland.
Writer’s Prediction
The Yankees get one game off Price and the Red Sox. New York wins, 5-3.
