Red Sox, Yankees close series in New York
By: Chance Harper | sbrforum.com
Though it doesn't show on their promotional schedule, it must have been Bat Night last night in the Bronx after Boston and New York combined for 30 hits and 24 runs with the Yanks coming out on top 15-9. The Red Sox and Yankees are right back at it again today, and with the New York bullpen short Joba Chamberlain again, it will put pressure on Mike Mussina to work deep into the game.
Things rarely stay dull for very long once the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox take the field. Wednesday’s 15-9 win by the Yankees sets the table for what promises to be a heated Game 2 Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Eastern time.
Both teams come into this game at 9-7, tied for first atop the American League East. But that 9-7 record has been good enough for 2.32 units of profit for Sox supporters. The Yankees are eating big chalk as usual at minus-0.94. Boston has been outscored 81-75 on the season, while New York has scored and given up 71 runs.
The last time these two clubs met was just last week at Fenway Park, where Boston took two out of three. We’ll see the same pitching matchup Thursday night that we saw in Game 2 of that series: Mike Mussina for the Yankees versus Josh Beckett for the Sox.
Boston came out 4-3 victors in that affair. The Sox are still the favorites in hostile territory at –135, with a total of nine runs. New York’s substandard .340 OBP is one of the reasons the under is 12-4 to start the season for the Yanks. The under is also 8-7-1 for Boston, partly due to David Ortiz hitting only one home run with a .239 OBP.
Aside from the change in venue, the Mussina-Beckett rematch will feature a different look in the Yankees’ batting order. Catcher Jose Molina strained a hamstring on Sunday; since Jorge Posada is limited to DH duties because of a bad shoulder, Chad Moeller has caught the last three games for the Bombers. The normally light-hitting veteran, who failed to make the Washington Nationals this spring, is 4-for-10 at the plate since his call-up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
This will be the first time in four starts Mussina will not have worked with Molina behind the plate. Last week, he gave up four runs to the Sox on eight hits in 5.2 innings and took the loss. At least he’ll be well rested after throwing just 71 pitches. Mussina has yet to go longer than six innings this year, but the 39-year-old might be pressed into duty after the Yankees used four relievers in Wednesday’s slugfest. The bullpen is already thin with Joba Chamberlain away from the team to tend to his ill father.
The Red Sox got a quality start from Beckett against the Yankees, which was a relief for Boston supporters after their ace got shelled in Toronto to start the 2008 campaign. Beckett limited the Yankees to three runs on five hits in 6.2 innings, and did it while throwing only 88 pitches. With Boston’s bullpen situation much worse than New York’s at this point, Beckett is even more likely then Mussina to go deeper into this matchup.
Boston is still without Mike Lowell (thumb), but Sean Casey is playing like his old Cincinnati self again, cranking out a .424 OPS and playing first base while Kevin Youkilis (.433 OBP) mans third for Lowell. However, Youkilis is now listed as day-to-day after fouling a pitch off his left foot on Wednesday. If he can’t play, rookie switch-hitter Jed Lowrie may be thrust into the spotlight again, although manager Terry Francona would prefer to use the natural right-hander against southpaws.
NESN has the Sox-friendly television coverage of this always-entertaining battle. Early betting reports have the Yankees with a slight edge in action at 56 percent, with the Over (9½) taking its usual grip on the betting public at 58 percent.
By: Chance Harper | sbrforum.com
Though it doesn't show on their promotional schedule, it must have been Bat Night last night in the Bronx after Boston and New York combined for 30 hits and 24 runs with the Yanks coming out on top 15-9. The Red Sox and Yankees are right back at it again today, and with the New York bullpen short Joba Chamberlain again, it will put pressure on Mike Mussina to work deep into the game.
Things rarely stay dull for very long once the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox take the field. Wednesday’s 15-9 win by the Yankees sets the table for what promises to be a heated Game 2 Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Eastern time.
Both teams come into this game at 9-7, tied for first atop the American League East. But that 9-7 record has been good enough for 2.32 units of profit for Sox supporters. The Yankees are eating big chalk as usual at minus-0.94. Boston has been outscored 81-75 on the season, while New York has scored and given up 71 runs.
The last time these two clubs met was just last week at Fenway Park, where Boston took two out of three. We’ll see the same pitching matchup Thursday night that we saw in Game 2 of that series: Mike Mussina for the Yankees versus Josh Beckett for the Sox.
Boston came out 4-3 victors in that affair. The Sox are still the favorites in hostile territory at –135, with a total of nine runs. New York’s substandard .340 OBP is one of the reasons the under is 12-4 to start the season for the Yanks. The under is also 8-7-1 for Boston, partly due to David Ortiz hitting only one home run with a .239 OBP.
Aside from the change in venue, the Mussina-Beckett rematch will feature a different look in the Yankees’ batting order. Catcher Jose Molina strained a hamstring on Sunday; since Jorge Posada is limited to DH duties because of a bad shoulder, Chad Moeller has caught the last three games for the Bombers. The normally light-hitting veteran, who failed to make the Washington Nationals this spring, is 4-for-10 at the plate since his call-up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
This will be the first time in four starts Mussina will not have worked with Molina behind the plate. Last week, he gave up four runs to the Sox on eight hits in 5.2 innings and took the loss. At least he’ll be well rested after throwing just 71 pitches. Mussina has yet to go longer than six innings this year, but the 39-year-old might be pressed into duty after the Yankees used four relievers in Wednesday’s slugfest. The bullpen is already thin with Joba Chamberlain away from the team to tend to his ill father.
The Red Sox got a quality start from Beckett against the Yankees, which was a relief for Boston supporters after their ace got shelled in Toronto to start the 2008 campaign. Beckett limited the Yankees to three runs on five hits in 6.2 innings, and did it while throwing only 88 pitches. With Boston’s bullpen situation much worse than New York’s at this point, Beckett is even more likely then Mussina to go deeper into this matchup.
Boston is still without Mike Lowell (thumb), but Sean Casey is playing like his old Cincinnati self again, cranking out a .424 OPS and playing first base while Kevin Youkilis (.433 OBP) mans third for Lowell. However, Youkilis is now listed as day-to-day after fouling a pitch off his left foot on Wednesday. If he can’t play, rookie switch-hitter Jed Lowrie may be thrust into the spotlight again, although manager Terry Francona would prefer to use the natural right-hander against southpaws.
NESN has the Sox-friendly television coverage of this always-entertaining battle. Early betting reports have the Yankees with a slight edge in action at 56 percent, with the Over (9½) taking its usual grip on the betting public at 58 percent.