Series Preview: Series 19 vs. Red Sox
Photo Via: Mike Stobe — Getty ImagesFinally, the Red Sox are coming to town. Alex Cora is back in the dugout for Boston. The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry will be renewed Friday night in the Bronx. Perhaps the Yankees will face their old friend Adam Ottavino or farmhand Garrett Whitlock.
Yankees Record: 31-26
Red Sox Record: 33-23
Season Series: 0-0
Lifetime Record: 1,212-997 (Yankees leading)
Game 1
Friday, June 4 — 7:05 pm — YES Network, MLB Network
Probable Pitchers: Nathan Eovaldi - RHP (BOS) vs. Michael King - RHP (NYY)
Game Notes: Michael King will make his second start of the season after his first did not go so well. King was credited with a loss in Detroit, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) with some bad defense behind him.
Former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi will be King’s counterpart. He is 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA this season. He has had arm problems for most of last season, but is starting to find his way again.
Game 2
Saturday, June 5 — 7:15 pm — FOX
Probable Pitchers: Eduardo Rodriguez - LHP (BOS) vs. Jameson Taillon - RHP (NYY)
Game Notes: Saturday night baseball on FOX! It feels great to see the Yankees and Red Sox in that spot again. Jameson Taillon and Eduardo Rodriguez are each struggling, but have a lot of fight battling back from distinct injuries and health scares. Expect nothing less than two gutsy performances, but also expected offenses licking their chops for Saturday night.
Rodriguez has a 5.64 ERA, but has managed to pitch deep enough into ball games to earn 5 wins so far in 2021. Taillon only has 1 win, but has a 5.10 ERA this season.
Game 3
Sunday, June 6 — 7:08 pm — ESPN
Probable Pitchers: Garrett Richards - RHP (BOS) vs. Domingo Germán - RHP (NYY)
Game Notes: Garrett Richards is in the middle of his best season in quite some time. He has a 4-4 record to go with a 3.75 ERA and 52 strikeouts. That is definitely serviceable for Richards, who was brought to Boston on a one-year deal.
Domingo Germán’s season ERA is 3.27 now, and he also has 52 strikeouts. The Sunday Night Baseball matchup should be a good one.
Sluggers to Watch
Giancarlo Stanton has one hit since coming back from the injured list. This series would be a great time to get rolling, similar to how he did at Yankee Stadium against Houston earlier this season. Stanton has 9 homers this season and has been extremely streaky, partly due to inconsistent playing time, whether it be due to injury or rest. Boston’s starting pitching does not blow you away in amazement, and neither does the bullpen.
Rafael Devers is this weekend’s “power lefty in Yankee Stadium” choice. It almost never lets me down. Devers leads the American League with 18 doubles this season, and some of those doubles can turn into home runs if he pulls them. He already has 14 homers as it is. Devers only has a .728 career OPS against the Yanks, but he can bring that number up if he keeps hitting how he is in 2021. With the Yankees lining up three right-handed pitchers this series, expect to see a lot of pitching around Raffy.
Injury Report
1B Luke Voit (oblique strain), OF Ryan LaMarre (pulled hamstring), RHP Clarke Schmidt (elbow strain), and RHP Darren O’Day (strained rotator cuff), RHP Corey Kluber (right shoulder strain), and CF Aaron Hicks (wrist surgery) are all out for the series.
Schmidt has already started throwing on flat ground and Kluber should progress to that sometime soon.
LHP Zack Britton (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is mid-way through a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset and should be up by the middle of the month.
The Red Sox have the following players on the 60-day injured list who will not play this series:
LHP Chris Sale (Tommy John surgery)
RHP Ryan Brasier (strained calf)