Series Preview: Yankees vs. Red Sox

Yankees - Red Sox
@ New Yankee Stadium
(three games)

With the magic number to clinch the AL East down to five games the Yankees can clinch against their arch rivals on their home field with a sweep. While I think that's unlikely, the Yankees have certainly had the Red Sox number in the second half of the season, taking six of the last seven games.

Boston comes into this series with their magic number to clinch the wild card down to 3, and has gotten healthier since the last time these two teams met. Daisuke Matsuzka is off the DL and they've also added veteran left-hander Billy Wagner to the back of their bullpen. Most "analysts" are saying they're in the best position heading into the playoffs, especially regarding their starting pitching. I hope the Yankees have been reading those articles.

While the Yankees have stumbled a bit lately, losing six of their last eleven, the Sox have been playing very well, winning 11 of their last 14.

This is a big series for both teams, but that has nothing to do with the standings. The Yankees are hoping to get a good start from Joba Chamberlain as he opens the series tonight in the Bronx. The Red Sox are interested to see what Matsuzka will do against a real lineup, and are also looking to fix what has been a shaky group of middle relievers.

The chance of a Yankees sweep relies heavily on Joba, who will be matched up against Jon Lester. If they can win game one, then I'll start to believe they can wrap this up and celebrate in front of Boston. A sweep would also even up the season series, which the Sox currently lead 9-6.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: My9, TBS, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.73) vs. LHP Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 4:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: FOX, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (18-7, 3.31) vs. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-5, 6.80)

Game 3: Sunday @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: ESPN, WCBS
LHP Andy Pettitte (13-7, 4.15) vs. RHP Paul Byrd (1-2, 6.04)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez - I know this is the second series in a row that I picked A-Rod, but I'm very interested to see how he performs this weekend, and I'm sure you are too.

He's had a good year against the Sox so far, hitting .282/.391/.590 with 3 HR, a double, a triple, and 9 RBI. In his career against Boston he's hitting .284/.378/.514 with 42 HR and 116 RBI in 187 games.

In 20 September games, A-Rod is hitting .342/.395/.569 with 4 HR and 19 RBI.

Rodriguez vs. Lester: .143/.200/.429 (2-for-14) HR, 2B, RBI
Rodriguez vs. Matsuzaka: .083/.389/.083 (1-for-12), 2B, 3 BB, 5 K
Rodriguez vs. Byrd: .286/.348/.524 (6-for-21) HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI

RED SOX: David Ortiz - While his overall numbers are pretty bad (.237/.331/.455 26 HR, 91 RBI) he's been better lately, and has also done pretty well against the Yankees this year. What else is new? In 14 games against the Yanks he's hitting .280/.387/.580 with 3 HR and 13 RBI. Most of the damage came in Boston, though, because Yankee pitching has held him to just a .200/.385/.300 hitting line with 0 HR and 2 RBI in tne Bronx.

In his career he's a .310/.420/.783 hitter in 132 games against the Yankees, with 28 HR and 103 RBI. And he's hitting .316/.393/.632 with 16 HR and 35 RBI in 56 games in the Bronx.

He's also starting to heat up as the season goes on; since August 16th, Ortiz is hitting .283/.388/.593 with 9 HR and 24 RBI.

Ortiz vs. Chamberlain: .214/.267/.214 (3-for-14) with one RBI and 4 K's
Ortiz vs. Sabathia: .304/.360/.609 (7-for-23) 2 HR, 2B, 4 RBI
Ortiz vs. Pettitte: .375/.418/.563 (18-for-48) HR, 6 2B, 10 RBI, 11 K's

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- David Robertson, RP: Is progressing in his recovery from a tight shoulder and should be back by the end of the month.
- Chien-Ming Wang, SP: 15-day DL is done for the year after arthriscopic surgery on his shoulder. He will likely be out for 12 months.
- Xavier Nady, RF: Done for year, season-ending Tommy John surgery. 10-12 months to recover.

RED SOX:
- Tim Wakefield, SP: Day-to-Day with back and leg injuries. He should be able to start Wednesday.
- Nick Green, INF: Day-to-Day with a leg injury, will likely miss this weekend's series.
- Miguel Gonzalez, RP: 60-Day DL as he recovers from right elbow surgery.
- Junichi Tazawa, SP: 60-Day DL with a mild left groin strain.