Yankees vs. Red Sox Series Preview - This is Huge

Yankees - Red Sox

Yankee Stadium
(3 games)

The Yankees did their job against the Orioles this weekend, they had to sweep and they swept. Now they have a much bigger test as the Red Sox visit the Stadium for a huge three-game series. So far this season the two teams have split the first 12 games this season.

Boston comes into town with a 75-55 record, and a 5 game lead on the Yankees in the Wild Card race. They also trail the Rays by 4.5 games in the division race. Boston enters the series struggling a bit, in the last 8 games they're just 4-4, and the injuries are starting to stack up. Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo and relief pitcher David Aardsma are on the DL, and they may soon be joined by J.D. Drew who is suffering from a bad back. Josh Beckett is also suffering from elbow problems, and that's never good for a pitcher. The Red Sox are also facing the Yanks for the first time without Yankee-killer Manny Ramirez, which I'm sure makes every Yankee pitcher very happy.

In their last eight games the Yanks are 6-2 and have picked up two games on the Red Sox in the process. One reason for the recent success is that they've started to hit. Maybe it's because Hideki Matsui is back, maybe it's because Girardi has stopped shuffling the lineup everyday, or maybe it's because they've faced bad pitching, either way they're starting to hit, and that's what they need to do if they're going to make a run at the postseason. They're not 70-60, and trail the Minnesota Twins by 3.5 games for second place in the Wild Card, and the Rays by 9.5 games in the division.

This is a huge series for the Yanks, basically a must-win series. Losing two of three would put them 6 games with 29 games to go, and that would be a killer. It starts tonight with Andy Pettitte on the mound, and he needs to be the leader that he is and set the tone for this series. He hasn't been great this year, but a great game tonight could make his recent struggles a distant memory.

MATCHUPS

Game 1 - Today @ 7:05 p.m.
TV: MY9; Radio: WCBS 880
Andy Pettitte LHP (13-9, 4.17) vs. Tim Wakefield RHP (7-8, 3.67)

Game 2 - Tomorrow @ 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Sidney Ponson RHP (7-4, 4.67) vs. Paul Byrd RHP (8-11, 4.61)

Game 3 - Thursday @ 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Mike Mussina RHP (16-7, 3.45) vs. Jon Lester LHP (12-5, 3.49)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Yankees - Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez: It's a huge series so for the first time I'm picking two Yankees to watch. Jeter has had a great month, hitting .392/.381/.519 with 2 homers and 11 RBI. A-Rod has had a rough month (.253/.381/.519), but in the last three games he went 5-for-11, with three doubles, and five runs scored.

Jeter has had a good year against the Sox, hitting .324/.375/.378 with 8 RBI. In his career he's hit .291/.358/.415 with 21 HR and 95 RBI.

A-Rod is having an even better year against the Red Sox, hitting .348/.423/.565 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, and for his career he's hitting .285/.380/.515 with 39 HR and 104 RBI against Boston.

Jeter vs. Wakefield: .313 (30-for-96), 3 HR, 10 RBI
Jeter vs. Byrd: .364 (12-for-33), 3 RBI
Jeter vs. Lester .200 (2-for-10)

A-Rod vs. Wakefield: .288 (21-for-73), 7 HR, 10 RBI
A-Rod vs. Byrd: .222 (4-for-18), HR, 4 RBI
A-Rod vs. Lester: .125 (1-for-8)

Boston - Kevin Youkilis: Normally Manny Ramirez would be listed here, but as we all know, that Yankee-Killer is no longer a Red Sock (woo hoo!).

And what about David Ortiz? He's gotta be the player to watch right? Wrong. He's not having the typical David Ortiz type year, plus he's been hampered by injuries. And, he really hasn't done anything against the Yanks this season, and he's hitting just .100 at The Stadium.

Youkilis has been the Red Sox MVP this year. He leads the Sox in batting average (.318), homers (24), RBI (89), slugging percentage (.568), and OPS (.951).

He's also had a very good season against the Yankees, hitting .362/.392/.426 overall and .375/.423/.500 at Yankee Stadium. He's also done very well against the Yanks in his career .317/.440/.444 with 3 HR and 28 RBI overall, and .320/.430/.480 with 2 HR and 15 RBI at The Stadium.

Youkilis vs. Pettitte: .444 (8-for-18), HR, 2 RBI
Youkilis vs. Ponson: .333 (4-for-12), 2 RBI
Youkilis vs. Mussina: .286 (6-for-21), 2 RBI

INJURY REPORT

Yankees:
- Dan Giese is on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis.
- Joba Chamberlain has rotator cuff tendinitis, and is on the 15-day DL. He has begun throwing and is working his way back, although the Yanks will continue to take it very slow with Joba.
- Chien-Ming Wang is out until at least early October with a mid-foot tearing of the Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon. It looks more and more likely that he is done for the year.
- Jonathan Albaladejo is out for the year with a stress fracture in his right elbow.
- Jorge Posada is out for the remainder of the season after having shoulder surgery.

Boston:
- Josh Beckett is having a right elbow problem and had his scheduled Tuesday start pushed back.
- J.D. Drew has missed six games with a sore back and may be headed to the DL.
- David Aardsma is on the 15-day DL with a strained right groin.
- Mike Lowell is on the 15-day DL with a right oblique strain.
- Julio Lugo is on the 15-day DL with a strain left quad.
- Curt Schilling is out for the year after having right shoulder surgery.
- Bartolo Colon is on the 15-day DL with back stiffness.
- Sean Casey is day-to-day with neck stiffness.