Last night the New York Yankees won their sixth of seven games played. They have taken the first two games against their traditional rival Boston Red Sox, and tonight they will look to finish off the Red Sox by sweeping the three-game series.
The Yankees won two of the three games against the World Champion Washington nationals, the sweep the series with the Baltimore Orioles. Inf the first game with the Red Sox, the Yankee came out victorious with a 5-1 win, and last night a 5-2 win.
Tonight at 7:08 pm, the Yankees will again face the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The weather again will be good with the game-time temperature at about 85 under partly cloudy skies, but with increased humidity.
The Red Sox will face the New York Yankees, James Paxton. Last year when Paxton faced the Red Sox for the first time, he pitched 8 shutout innings while striking out 12 Red Sox for the Yankee win. He lost his July outing but won both of this last two starts against the Sox. On August 19 and on September 26th, he shut out the Sox for the second time in the season. One of the main reasons the Yankees signed Paxton is that he was known as the Red Sox killer. Jackie Bradley Jr. has the best Red Sox record off of Paxton.
But this is 2020, not 2019. Paxton underwent back surgery — a microscopic lumbar discectomy with the removal of a peridiscal cyst — on Feb. 5, at which point he was given a three-to-four-month timeline to return. He came back from the surgery much sooner than the Yankees thought, and with the delay of the season, he says he is fully back. He pitched well in summer camp, but in his first start of the season, he was miserable going only one inning and giving up 3 runs in the Yankee loss to the Nationals. The only loss the Yankees have endured this season.
What James Paxton shows up on the mound tonight will have much to do with if the Yankees can sweep the Red Sox series.
At the bottom of the first inning, the New York Yankees will face Red Sox right-hander Austin Brice. The Boston Red Sox pitching rotation is best described as a total mess. Over the offseason, they lost co-ace David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chris Sale is injured and their best pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is out for the season with coronavirus induced heart inflammation. With a lack of starting pitching, it causes them to dig around to find someone to start games.
Tonight in what will be a bullpen game for the Sox, Brice will start for the first time in 110 relief appearances in his career. He pitched a scoreless inning in the first Yankee game. So far this season, he has had 4 relief games with an ERA of 7.70. His longest outing was 1 2/3 innings, so don’t expect him to last long in the game tonight.
Prediction: Yankees 6-2
Tomorrow they will host the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game replacement series, two games at the Stadium, and two games at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. Yankee ace Gerrit Cole is expected to start tomorrow night’s 7:05 pm game at Yankee Stadium.