Yankees @ Red Sox Series Preview

Yankees-Red Sox

Fenway Park
(3 games)

What a difference a month makes. The last time these two teams met the Red Sox had just finished off a two-game sweep in the Bronx, and the Yankees were 13-13, 4.5 games behind the first place Jays and 3.5 behind the Sox. At the time the Yankees were without Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira was hitting .198, and they had a team ERA in the mid-5's. But since then the Yankees have been a different team. They've won 21 of their last 29 games, they're starting to get healthy, Teixeira looks like an MVP candidate, they've finally lowered their ERA under 5.00 (4.81 to be exact), and they head into Fenway with a one game lead over the Sox for first place in the division.

The Yankees are coming off a 4-2 homestand which saw them take two of three from the AL West leading Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays. Like I've been saying for weeks, the only major concern remains the bullpen. Besides Mariano and Alfredo Aceves there aren't many other trustworthy arms out there. Hopefully Brian Bruney can return and in the meantime maybe they can get a few important innings out of Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, and David Robertson. Hughes looked as good as he ever has yesterday in his first relief appearance of the season. His fastball was sitting at 94-95 mph and his curveball was nasty. Besides that the team is firing on all cylinders as they head into this important series in Beantown.

The Yankees may be a much different and better team than when they played in May, but it's not like the Sox have suddenly turned bad. They're still one of the best teams in baseball and head into this series with a 33-24 record, just one game behind the Yanks. And they're almost ready to have John Smoltz join their already potent pitching staff. They also have arguably the best bullpen in the game, with guys like Jonathan Papelbon, Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima, and Manny Delcarmen. And besides David Ortiz being off the roids living under the Mendoza line, their lineup is still very good from top to bottom. However, they have struggled a bit over the last two weeks, going 6-6 in their last 12 games against Minnesote, Toronto, Texas and Detroit.

With the Yanks and Sox both at the top of the AL East, separated by just one game, this is about as big a series as you get in mid-June. The Sox have taken the first five games of the season series - the first time that's happened since 1985 - and it's very important that the Yankees go out and prove that they can beat these guys, not only to prove it to the Sox but to themselves too. They'll get their first chance tonight.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: My9, WCBS 880
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-2, 4.69 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (6-2, 4.09 ERA)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 7:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-3, 14.46 ERA) vs. RHP Tim Wakefield (7-3, 4.50 ERA)

Game 3: Thursday @ 7:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
LHP CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.56 ERA) vs. RHP Brad Penny (5-2, 5.85 ERA)

Players to Watch

YANKEES - Derek Jeter: The one guy I always look to to step up when the Yanks play the Sox is The Captain. And why not? In the last three years Jeter has hit .368/.410/.529, with 6 HR and 23 RBI against the Sox. In 199 career games against Boston Jeter is hitting .295/361/.414 with 21 homers and 96 RBI. Although he has had some tough times at Fenway in his career, where he's hitting just .256/.318/.383 with 12 homers and 55 RBI in 104 games. In the five games this year against Boston Jeter is hitting .348/.423/.391, and .357/.438/.429 in the three games in Boston.

Jeter is having a very solid 2009, hitting .306/.379/.463 with 8 HR, 26 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. Last year he hit only 11 homers all year and stole only 11 bases. Seeing the boost in power and speed in Jeter's game is a pleasant surprise and he's also having one of if not his best season in the field.

Jeter vs. Beckett: .341/.372/.439 (14-for-41), HR, 3 RBI.
Jeter vs. Wakefield: .313/.343/.444 (31-for-99), 3 HR, 10 RBI, 15 strikeouts.
Jeter vs. Penny: 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

BOSTON - Jason Bay: I was happy when Boston traded Manny Ramirez last year, but now I almost wish they didn't. Jason Bay has been more than Boston could ever have expected and then some - especially against the Yankees. So far this year Bay is hitting .277/.400/.599 with a team-leading 16 home runs, and 55 RBI.

Since being traded to Boston, Bay is hitting .412/.511/.824, with 3 homers and 16 RBI against the Yanks. This year he's been even better, hitting a ridiculous .556/.667/1.167 with 3 HR and 10 RBI.

Bay vs. Burnett: .375/.444/.625 (6-for-16), HR, 4 RBI.
Bay vs. Wang: NR.
Bay vs. Sabathia: 0-for-3.

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Xavier Nady, RF: 15-day DL with an injured right elbow, he's playing in extended spring games down in Tampa. He could rejoin the Yankees next week.
- Cody Ransom, INF: 60-day DL with a strained right quad, he's playing games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
- Jose Molina, C: On the 15-day DL with a strained left quad. He's begun baseball activities but still thinks he's 10 days away.
- Brian Bruney, RP: 15-day DL with a flexor muscle problem in his forearm. He's been throwing bullpen sessions, and today will throwing breaking balls for the first time since going back on the DL.
- Damaso Marte, RP: 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. He's also begun throwing bullpen sessions.

BOSTON:
- Jed Lowrie, SS: 15-day DL with a sprained left wrist.
- Miguel Gonzalez, RP: 60-day DL as he recovers from right elbow surgery.
- John Smoltz, SP: 15-day DL as he recovers from right shoulder surgery. He has been throwing in minor-league rehab games.
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF: Day-to-day with a sprained right shoulder. According to Terry Francona, he will miss tonight's opener.
- J.D. Drew, OF: Day-to-day with a sore shoulder.