The New York Yankees are squaring off against the Boston Red Sox for the first of a three-game set, renewing baseball’s greatest rivalry.
Coming off a weekend series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Yankees are hoping they can recapture some of the magic from their 8-1 homestand as they head up to Boston to continue their road trip against the Red Sox.Getting the start for the Yankees will be 23-year-old Luis Severino, who is set to make his fourth start of the 2017 season and the 26th of his career in the series opener.
Last time out, the right-hander took the loss against the Chicago White Sox despite posting his longest outing of his career and his second consecutive double-digit strikeout performance. He held Chicago to three runs on three hits while striking out 10.
Thanks to the off day last Thursday and on Monday and the rain out on Tuesday, Severino will make this start on an extended seven days of rest. He has appeared in just two games on six or more days rest and has struck out four batters over 3.1 innings of work.
For the Red Sox, Rick Porcello is getting the nod and hoping to continue his dominance over the Bronx Bombers. In his first five starts against them as a member of the Red Sox, the 28-year-old has tossed seven or more innings in each of them. That marks the longest such streak to begin a Red Sox career since Gary Bell turned in seven-plus innings in six starts from June 12, 1967, to July 31, 1968.
Boston is 19-5 in Porcello’s last 24 regular season starts and at Fenway Park, the odds just get better as they are 16-2 in his last 18 starts at Fenway Park.
Lineups:
Yankees:
- Brett Gardner LF
- Chase Headley 3B
- Matt Holliday DH
- Jacoby Ellsbury CF
- Starlin Castro 2B
- Aaron Judge RF
- Greg Bird 1B
- Austin Romine C
- Ronald Torreyes
Red Sox:
- Xander Bogaerts SS
- Andrew Benintendi LF
- Mookie Betts RF
- Mitch Moreland 1B
- Hanley Ramirez DH
- Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
- Josh Rutledge 3B
- Marco Hernandez 2B
- Sandy Leon C
Now That’s What I Call Command:
Luis Severino has managed to strike out 10 batters while also allowing no more than one walk in two consecutive starts — making him just the third Yankees pitcher in history to do so.
Masahiro Tanaka (4/9/14 and 4/16/14) and David Wells (9/1/98 and 9/7/98) are the only other two. Among major league pitchers with at least 20 innings thrown in 2017, Severino owns the fourth-best strikeout-to-walk-ratio (13.50) sitting only behind Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, and Ivan Nova.
Tacoby Bellsbury:
If you’re looking for a certain someone to come up big on Wednesday night, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury may be your guy.
In 31 at-bats against Rick Porcello, Ellsbury owns a .387/.441/.839 slash line and has hit four home runs while sporting a 1.280 OPS.
Not-So-Sweet Caroline:
In 2016, the Yankees posted a 2-8 record at Fenway Park which tied the franchise mark for their third-most losses at a venue in a single season since going 1-8 in 1973.
When Boston swept New York in a four-game set from Sept. 15-18 last season, it marked the first time they were swept in a four-game set at Fenway Park since June 4-7 of 1990.
Despite the lack of recent success, however, the Yankees own a 492-472-4 (.510) all-time record at Fenway Park which makes them the only visiting American League team with a winning record in Boston.
Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?
- TV: YES Network, ESPN and NESN
- Radio: WFAN 660/101.9 FM (New York), WEEI 93.7 (Boston)
- 7:10 p.m. ET
- Fenway Park, Boston, MA
