As the New York Yankees reach desperation, they must salvage the final game of this three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. 

  • Boston Red Sox: (51-38)
  • New York Yankees: (44-46)
  • American League, 8:05 PM ET, ESPN
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Sure, we keep saying it, but the New York Yankees desperately have to turn what is a mediocre season around tonight if the big boys upstairs want to even think about avoiding a fire sale.

Nine games out of the division. Five and a half games out of the Wild Card. This is where New York currently sits.

Entering this series, they had to really take it to the Red Sox then to the Baltimore Orioles before ending this pivotal 10-game homestand against the San Francisco Giants. After dropping the first two, they hypothetically have to win seven of the next eight games in order to call this season “salvageable.”

Tonight on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, one of their last chances to turn this season around against a tough opponent in David Price. They’ll send their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, to the hill to counter him.

 

Pitching Matchups:

In Price’s last start at Yankee Stadium May 7, he surrendered six runs to a porous Yankees’ lineup on seven hits over 4.2 innings of work.

Since then (12 starts), he owns a 5-5 record but he has given up 29 runs in 83 innings of work (3.14 ERA) to drop his seasonal average from 6.75 to 4.34. Opposing batters have also maintained a poor .243/.283/.406 slash line after a .278/.339/.432 line in the seven starts prior.

Tanaka returns to his comfortable state: an outing on an extra day of rest. In seven starts on five day’s rest this season, his ERA is 1.05, opposing hitters own a .193/.212/.241 slash line with a lowly OPS of .453 and have only hit one home run.

In eight career starts against Boston, Tanaka owns a 4-2 record with a 4.79 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 47 innings of work.

Lineups:

Players To Watch:

Brian McCann

In his career against Price, the Yankees’ catcher owns a .345/.367/.655 slash line with three home runs and seven runs batted in in 29 at bats.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury is 23-for-66 against Price including three triples and an OPS of .940. Additionally, he has 15 extra-base hits in 38 games against his former team.

Xander Boegarts

In his 47 games against the Yankees, Boegarts owns a slash line of .284/.323/.421 with five home runs along with 19 RBI. Against Tanaka, the Red Sox shortstop has a home run and three RBI in 22 at-bats.

Prediction: 

Against the usual outcome, New York goes down without a fight against David Price as Alex Rodriguez wears a golden sombrero in front of an annoyed Yankee Stadium crowd.

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