Things are going from bad to worse for the New York Yankees as they dropped their third-consecutive game Wednesday with a gut-wrenching loss to the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees will look to get their season back on track and finally seal their spot in the American League Wild Card game when they take on the Red Sox again in their series finale tonight.
Read on below for a breakdown of this critical matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Angels vs. Rangers and Royals vs. White Sox.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Preview
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
When: Thursday, October 1, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are surely ending their lost season with a flourish. The Red Sox extended their winning streak to six games with a nerve-wracking 9-5 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Mookie Betts drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who will look to complete the four-game sweep later tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Starting for the Red Sox this evening is left-hander Rich Hill (2-0, 1.17 ERA). He was phenomenal in his last start for the Red Sox, throwing a two-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles on September 25. He has struck out 10 batters in all three of his starts this year. Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox are a perfect 3-0 during that span.
That being said, he still needs the Red Sox hitters to pull their weight offensively tonight. Expected to lead the Boston attack is David Ortiz. He is hitting .353 in his last five games with a homer and five RBIs. The designated hitter is 16-of-70 lifetime against Sabathia with two homers, seven RBIs and five walks.
The Red Sox are 5-0 in their last five road games.
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Betting on the New York Yankees
New York’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Yankees suffered a heart-breaking 9-5 defeat to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. The Yankees have now lost their last three games as they dropped down to 86-72 in the American League East standings. It was a disappointing result for the Bronx Bombers, who wasted a glorious opportunity to clinch their first playoff berth in three years.
For the Yankees to snap their losing skid tonight, they need a solid pitching performance from starter C.C. Sabathia (5-10, 4.82 ERA). He struggled in his last start, though, against the White Sox, allowing six hits and four runs in 6.2 innings of work. It was a dismal performance from Sabathia, who had been enjoying a solid September prior to that outing. He was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA in his previous three starts.
He will look to end his 2015 regular season on a high when he takes on the Boston Red Sox tonight. The lefty has plenty of experience facing the Red Sox, having 31 career starts against them. He’s 11-12 against Boston lifetime. Given Sabathia’s struggles though, the onus is on the New York hitters to get their bats going in the series finale.
One guy who needs to step up tonight is Alex Rodriguez. He showed signs of emerging from his deep slump on Wednesday, hitting a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning of their game against Boston, A-Rod’s first homer in two weeks. However, he will have his work cut out for him against Hill, who’s the only American League pitcher in the last century(!) with 10 strikeouts in each of his first three starts with a single team.
The Yankees are 4-6 in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
New York books a spot in the AL Wild Card game with a narrow 4-3 win.
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