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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 11:28:17 GMT -5
The Red Sox have something to prove at Yankee Stadium
By Rob Bradford an hour ago
It's not difficult to decipher the anticipation when it comes to this three-game series between the Red Sox and Yankees in the Bronx.
Nobody is trying to hide it, as was evident by Thursday's comments from both Alex Cora and Chaim Bloom.
"They are where they are in the standings. We are where we are in the standings," said Cora after his team's series-ending win over the Astros. "They have a good team. We have a good team. I don’t think too many people thought us going into New York we were going to be in this position, but we are, we are. Now we have to be ready for a fun weekend. It should be loud, it should be fun. Yankees, Red Sox and people are going to be watching."
"I'm sure it's going to be a wild atmosphere," said Bloom on the Greg Hill Show. "I have no doubt about that."
And it's not just emanating from the Red Sox' side, as Brett Gardner's comments would suggest.
"Listen, we don't like those guys, they don't like us," said the Yankees outfielder. "I don't want to get too far ahead of the Rays, because we have one more game until we get to the Red Sox this weekend. But we haven't seen much of them this year, so it will be interesting to have them come into town and obviously we look forward to those games, whether they are here in the Bronx or up at Fenway. There's a lot of energy and having fans back in the stands this year will be fun. It will be a good matchup and and we look forward to hopefully playing well against them."
But this is more than just the storylines that come with Cora's presence, or the teams' bumper-sticker rivalry.
Of the utmost importance is this: The Red Sox have to prove they can win some games in Yankee Stadium.
Since Steve Pearce stretched to gather in Eduardo Nunez's throw in the 2018 series-clincher, life has been ugly for the Red Sox against the Yankees in New York.
There have been 16 games between the teams over the past three seasons, with the Yankees winning 15 of them. The run differential? Try 53 more runs for New York. Talk about a response to that night on Oct. 9, 2018.
The last time the Red Sox won at Yankee Stadium was two years and two days ago, with David Price holding the hosts to two runs over 6 2/3 innings before Brandon Workman ultimately locked down the save for an 8-5 win.
Michael Chavis started at second base. Eduardo Nunez was the designated hitter. And Sam Travis began the game at first.
Another reminder in that game was the presence of Matt Barnes, who set-up Workman but gave up three runs in doing so. This time Barnes comes in as one of the game's most dominant closers, but ... In his last four appearances at Yankee Stadium the reliever has allowed two more more runs in each of his outings to a tune of a 24.55 ERA.
Admittedly, this isn't the same Red Sox team that has run through this rough stretch at Yankee Stadium.
Alex Verdugo's first seven games as a visitor against the Yanks came last season in seven games, finishing with an .833 OPS and a pair of home runs.
Enrique Hernandez has played two games against the Yankees in New York, both coming in 2016 and totaling three plate appearances for the infielder/outfielder.
Hunter Renfroe's experiences at Yankee Stadium haven't been great, despite a team record of 4-3. The outfielder is 2-for-19 with 11 strikeouts.
Marwin Gonzalez's teams have gone 9-11 in the Bronx with the Red Sox' utility man carrying a .261 batting average and .630 OPS in 71 appearances.
So you have new players, and certainly a different vibe than has been prevalent for the majority of those previous 16 get-togethers. That's a start. Now -- in among the trash talk and chaos -- the 2021 Red Sox have to pass their most important test to date ... winning in Yankee Stadium.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 13:13:56 GMT -5
Tomase: Red Sox, Yankees are two teams going in different directions 1H ago / by John Tomase John Tomase RED SOX INSIDER
Weeks after the Red Sox won the 2013 World Series, a rival executive took stock of the AL East.W
"It'll be five years before the Yankees are as good as the Red Sox," he said. "Maybe more."
New York dismissed that timeline. The arrival of the Baby Bombers in 2016 heralded a new era post-Jeter, A-Rod, and Teixeira, with New York reaching Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS before recording back-to-back 100-win seasons in 2018 and 2019.
The Red Sox, of course, claimed the ultimate prize, winning another World Series in 2018, but by the start of this season, that five-year script had seemingly flipped. The Yankees were loaded for bear, and the Red Sox were hunting squirrels.
Funny how quickly perceptions can change. Just as the 2013 Yankees weren't as far from contention as we thought, the 2021 already Red Sox look like a better all-around team than the division favorites. ESPN projects Red Sox to draft top catching prospect
They'll get to prove it on Friday when they open a three-game set in New York in second place with a 2.5-game lead on their long-time rivals. By the end of the weekend, the Red Sox could either be in first place or third.
"I don't think too many people thought going into New York we were going to be in this position, but here we are," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Now we have to be ready for a fun weekend. It should be loud, it should be fun. Yankees-Red Sox, and people are going to be watching."
This matchup is about more than jockeying for position in the standings. It also highlights the different directions the two franchises appear to be headed in, with Chaim Bloom and a young Red Sox front office building a more dynamic team than the Yankees, who have been far less willing to spend on Hal Steinbrenner's watch than they were under his legendarily mercurial father, and thus are springing leaks across the roster.
Let's break down each club in a modified Tale of the Tape. 1. Offensive approach
In a year of depressed offense, the Red Sox have adapted to the new normal far better than their counterparts. Even including a recent slump, the Red Sox rank fifth in runs per game (4.93) and third in batting average (.257) and OPS (.755).
The Yankees, meanwhile, rank 27th in runs (3.74) and 26th in batting average (.227). This would be palatable if they were still hitting home runs, but two years after launching 306 long balls, they're a middling seventh in the AL with 67, three behind the fourth-place Red Sox.
"It's not 2019 gorilla baseball anymore," Cora noted. "It's not."
Outside of MVP candidate Aaron Judge, the Yankees offense is brutal to watch, a plodding, impotent slog of hitters with stats out of the Dead Ball Era. Three starters are hitting below .200 and a fourth is batting .205. There's no dynamism to their attack. Second baseman D.J. LeMahieu, typically one of the best practitioners of the all-fields approach in the game, is hitting .255. All-Star shortstop Gleyber Torres has only two home runs. The Yankees rank second in double plays and have run into more outs on the bases than anyone.
With slugger Giancarlo Stanton once again injured, the only hitter that scares anyone is Judge. The Red Sox, meanwhile, boast three of the top hitters in the game in J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers, with Alex Verdugo doing a pretty reasonable LeMahieu impersonation and using the entire field. When they're going well, the Red Sox put the ball in play and make the defense react. They're second in the AL in hits but 14th in walks, so they're not a team like the Rays that can manufacture rallies even when they're not really hitting. 2. Pitching
Here's what has kept the Yankees afloat, even if the individual pieces beyond ace Gerrit Cole don't necessarily wow you.
New York ranks second in the AL in team ERA (3.25), just slightly behind the White Sox, and four spots ahead of the Red Sox (3.90).
The Yankees broke the bank for Cole and he hasn't disappointed, going 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA and 104 strikeouts in just 75.2 innings. The Red Sox will catch a break and miss the ace right-hander this weekend. The rest of New York's rotation isn't much on paper, between Jordan Montgomery, Domingo German, and the disappointing Jameson Taillon, a key offseason acquisition who's just 1-4 with a 5.10 ERA.
The Yankees cheaped out on their rotation for some reason this winter, adding Taillon and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber on low-risk deals. The latter was just finding his groove after throwing a no-hitter last month when he suffered a shoulder injury that is expected to sideline him for at least two months.
Fortunately for New York, the bullpen has been lights out. As good as the Red Sox feel about closer Matt Barnes, he's no better than the second best reliever in the AL, because Aroldis Chapman is turning back the clock. The 33-year-old left-hander has allowed just one earned run in 22 innings (0.41 ERA) while striking out 42 of the 81 batters he has faced. Yankees relievers own a 2.82 ERA overall. Martin Perez standing out as Sox's best starter
The Red Sox, by contrast, lack a dominant starter and stable setup crew, but they've gotten consistent production from every starter not named Eduardo Rodriguez. The average Red Sox start is about five innings and two runs, and it's understandable if fans remain skeptical that Garrett Richards, Nick Pivetta, and Martin Perez can continue pitching so effectively.
It also doesn't help that depth options like Tanner Houck, Connor Seabold, and Thaddeus Ward are all currently on the shelf, with Ward undergoing Tommy John surgery. 3. Leadership
The return of Alex Cora has provided the Red Sox with a jolt, whereas Yankees counterpart Aaron Boone has found himself on the hot seat. Similarly, while Bloom is experiencing an extended honeymoon, Yankees boss Brian Cashman has had his team-building approach called into question, particularly from an athleticism standpoint.
Neither club is blessed with an abundance of high-ceiling prospects, though outfielder Jarren Duran and first baseman Triston Casas have made a leap forward for the Red Sox, and switch-hitting 18-year-old outfielder Jasson Dominguez looks like the next Yankees star.
Neither club's ownership has shown much of a willingness to spend during the pandemic or with the looming CBA negotiations creating uncertainty over the game's future economic system. How they finish in 2021 could come down to which team does more to improve itself at next month's trading deadline. In the meantime, we will sit back and enjoy the first of these back-loaded 19 meetings between traditional rivals headed in different directions.
"Obviously, being in the middle of the whole thing, people are going to be watching," Cora said. "National TV games, slow games. This is where we're at. They had a good week, I think. They are where they are in the standings. We are where we are in the standings. They have a good team. We have a good team. . . . Hopefully, they stay the same over the weekend and we can get hot and have a good weekend in New York and move forward."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 13:24:50 GMT -5
There is a small chance we could get the NESN feed tonight as I notice that my MLB network channel will be airing the game tonight I all ready now what feed my MLB package will pick up..... crossing my fingers
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 13:37:24 GMT -5
Game 57: Red Sox at Yankees lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated June 4, 2021, 2 hours ago After being outscored 18-4 in the first three games of the series, the Red Sox avoided a sweep at Houston with a 5-1 win over the Astros on Thurdsay. The road trip continues as the Sox head to New York for a three-game series with the Yankees. Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the season between the longtime rivals. Nate Eovaldi will be on the mound for the Sox tonight. Lineups RED SOX (33-23):1. Danny Santana (S) CF 2. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 7. Marwin Gonzalez (S) 1B 8. Christian Vazquez (R) C 9. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B Pitching: RHP Nate Eovaldi (6-2, 4.01 ERA) YANKEES (31-26):1. DJ LeMahieu (R) 1B 2. Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH 3. Aaron Judge (R) RF 4. Gio Urshela (R) 3B 5. Gleyber Torres (R) SS 6. Rougned Odor (L) 2B 7. Clint Frazier (R) LF 8. Gary Sanchez (R) C 9. Brett Gardner (L) CF Pitching: RHP Michael King (0-2, 2.86 ERA) Time: 7:05 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. King: Bogaerts 1-3, Devers 2-3, Martinez 0-3, Plawecki 0-2, Santana 0-1, Verdugo 1-1, Vázquez 1-2. Yankees vs. Eovaldi: Andújar 2-9, Frazier 4-4, Gardner 3-13, Higashioka 1-1, Judge 2-10, LeMahieu 2-18, Odor 1-5, Stanton 3-10, Sánchez 1-8, Torres 4-17, Urshela 3-7. Stat of the day: The Yankees have won 23 of 29 meetings between the teams since the Red Sox won the 2018 ALDS. Notes: Eovaldi is 1-2 with a 3.58 ERA in nine career appearances (six starts) against New York … The Yankees have struggled offensively. Giancarlo Stanton is 1-for-16 with nine strikeouts since returning from a strained quadriceps. DJ LeMahieu is 9-for-49 (.184) since May 19, and Gio Urshela is in a 4-for-27 skid … King is making his sixth career start and second this season. He is 0-3 with a 8.27 ERA as a starting pitcher, and 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two relief appearances against the Red Sox. Song of the Day: Van Halen "Jump, Live with Sammy Haggar"www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLVcZwCgDEQ
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 14:33:42 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 16m #RedSox 1-15 at Yankees Stadium the last two years, outscored 105-50 and have lost 11 straight.
Last win: June 2, 2019. Only 733 day ago.
Brandon Workman said that stretch he had in Philadelphia last season was the worst he's pitched going back to when he was 8-years-old and learning how to pitch.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 14:57:27 GMT -5
Steve Hewitt @steve_hewitt · 7m
Kiké Hernandez out of the lineup for a second straight game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 14:59:34 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 31s It’s raining at Yankee Stadium
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 15:08:21 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 3m Hailstorm in New York
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 15:31:31 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 9m Alex Cora joins us on Zoom. #RedSox
Cora said Ryan Brasier (left calf) was hit in the head by a line drive pitching in a simulated game in Fort Myers. He's in the hospital under observation. The plan was for him to fly to Boston and start a rehab assignment -- that's on hold for now. #RedSox
Cora texted Bruce Cassidy after the #Bruins defeated the Capitals.
'They asked me for suggestions for a few things in the playoffs. We go back and forth. We give each other ideas. The more time you spend in the city, the more you become fans of teams.' #RedSox
Cora on the series -- 'Everybody's talking about it. Everybody looks forward to #RedSox-Yankees.
'To be brutally honest with you, everybody looks forward to Monday morning.'
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 15:32:39 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 9m Cora on former @hendrickenhawks standout Mike King, who faces the #RedSox tonight -- 'Good arm. He's a good arm. He's a guy they're giving a chance to go out and compete. What you see on the video is good action.'
Cora, in Spanish, said #RedSox-Yankees has an incredible history. Many people will be interested. But he and his players have to stay in the moment and treat these games like any other.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 15:38:13 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7m Ryan Brasier was hit in the head by a batted ball during a sim game in Ft. Myers today and was hospitalized. They're checking for him for a concussion. He was able to text with Alex Cora.
He was on the verge of starting a rehab assignment. Been a tough few months for him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 4, 2021 15:55:23 GMT -5
Alex Cora is a villain in this weekend’s Red Sox-Yankees series, a role Alex Rodriguez knows well By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated June 4, 2021, 8 minutes ago
Alex Cora’s return to Yankee Stadium Friday was not going to go unnoticed.
The Red Sox manager was facing the Yankees for the first time since his year-long suspension that followed revelations of a sign-stealing scheme in which he was a key figure as Astros bench coach in 2017 — when Houston beat the Yankees in a seven-game ALCS on the way to a title.
A separate MLB investigation also discovered sign-sequence code-cracking (a lesser but still prohibited offense) by the 2018 Red Sox, a team helmed by Cora that beat the Yankees in the Division Series en route to a championship.
So what did it mean for Cora to be back in the Bronx?
“Having him back in the dugout obviously makes me want to beat them more,” said Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, who later clarified that he was “halfway joking.”
Whether or not Gardner was joking, Cora was likely to face heightened scrutiny in Yankee Stadium, where the Astros were subjected to boos and choreographed profanities in their visit last month.
So what might it be like for Cora to play the role of the villain?
Alex Rodriguez has some familiarity with that. Between 2004 and 2016 (with a one-year interruption for his year-long suspension in 2014 for his connection to Biogenesis), he spent 12 seasons with the Yankees as a target of Fenway Park’s ire.
To Rodriguez, who will be part of ESPN’s remote “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast team in Bristol, Conn., for the finale of this series, Cora’s job limits the degree to which he’s turned into a focal point.
“It’s different when you’re a player and fans get to get on you a little bit; it’s different for a manager,” said Rodriguez, who has known Cora since both were teenagers. “I don’t think it compares because you’re in the dugout where nobody’s watching you.”
That said, Cora’s presence was a looming story line for the first meeting of the Red Sox and Yankees this year. The return of the Red Sox to contention in 2021 after they finished in last place in 2020 points to Cora’s impact, suggested Rodriguez.
“I think Alex Cora is the best manager in the game,” said Rodriguez. “He’s a world champion and he understands the game, 360. Obviously it’s paying dividends. I knew he would improve the team but I didn’t know it would be this paradigm shift.
“Look at the record. That shows great leadership. The Red Sox are back on the map and very competitive. The players are playing better. Alex did a difficult thing in the way that he kind of went away, kept his head down, served his time, and came back even better.”
The crowd at Yankee Stadium this weekend — the first to attend a Red Sox-Yankees game since 2019 — may not share that enthusiastic perspective.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jun 4, 2021 22:18:27 GMT -5
Good win, Vintage Eovaldi.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 5, 2021 3:39:11 GMT -5
Raffy admires 429-foot HR: 'Just having fun' 1:01 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
NEW YORK -- Busted up by fastballs of late, Rafael Devers unleashed all of his recent frustration with one swing.
The slugging third baseman got the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry for 2021 off to a flying start Friday night, when he took a high 0-2 fastball from Michael King and hammered it into the upper deck in right field for a three-run homer in the top of the first.
Devers clearly enjoyed timing a 96.1 mph fastball so perfectly early in Boston's eventual 5-2 victory. He stood and watched it soar into the Yankee Stadium night and joyfully flipped his bat before he took his trek around the bases.
"It was obviously just in the moment," said Devers. "It's not something that I try and show up anybody. I'm just having fun out there. It's a part of the game now, especially. I'm just living in the moment and just enjoying that."
The Red Sox were also living in the moment in what was a satisfying night for a team that had been beaten up at Yankee Stadium in the previous two seasons, losing 15 out of 16 -- including 11 consecutive road defeats against their top rivals heading into Friday.
Thanks in large part to the early momentum created by Devers, who ripped his 15th homer of the season at an exit velocity of 112.4 mph and a projected distance of 429 feet, that losing streak in the Bronx was put to bed.
"It's very important," said Devers. "We haven't had that much success since 2019 against this club here. It's extremely important to be able to get these wins and make the adjustments."
While it is clear that Devers isn't losing bat speed at the age of 24, he had strangely battled to sync up his swing to fastballs this season, never more than in the recently-completed four-game series in Houston in which Boston lost three out of four.
"Obviously they're throwing me a lot of fastballs and I'm not mad about it," Devers said. "I just make my adjustments, and obviously I was able to hit that one pretty deep. But that's really what it's all about, is making the adjustments and trying to do what I can with it."
Entering Friday's game, Devers was hitting .190 on fastballs compared to .354 on breaking pitches and .485 vs. offspeed stuff.
Pitchers will try to exploit Devers with fastballs while they can, but he put them on notice with Friday's big hit, and also a double in Thursday's win in Houston that came off of a fastball.
"I mean, he saw a lot of fastballs in Houston, so he's a smart hitter," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He knows these guys have special fastballs, too. That one was up in the zone, he got on top of it and he crushed that one. He put some good swings toward the end in Houston. He made some adjustments, and that's who he is. He looks lost for a little bit, but then he's one swing away from doing damage."
For the Red Sox, it was a fast start to a weekend showdown in the Bronx.
There were other takeaways from a win that put Boston just one game behind the Rays in the American League East.
Nate brings the heat For all the talk about how well Nick Pivetta, Garrett Richards and Martín Pérez have been pitching, Nathan Eovaldi is quietly putting together a strong season.
The fireballer held the Yankees to one earned run over six innings, striking out seven. He is 7-2 with a 3.78 ERA.
"He goes about it the right way," said Cora. "It doesn't matter the result. His process is up there with the best of them. He works his tail off in his studies. He talks to Christian [Vázquez] and with Kevin [Plawecki]. He does a good job with Jason [Varitek] and [pitching coach Dave Bush] and [bullpen coach Kevin Walker], and his preparation is amazing. Sometimes the results are not there, but the effort and the preparation, they're always there. You can see the results."
Konnichiwa to the rivalry Until Friday night, Red Sox righty Hirokazu Sawamura had only known about MLB's longest-standing rivalry from watching it on television.
But the rookie entered the fray in impressive fashion by getting six big outs, allowing one walk while striking out five. Sawamura continues to earn more high-leverage opportunities from Cora. Sawamura strong in relief
"Actually, Sawamura threw the ball well in Houston. We just didn't make plays behind him. Then, the second time, his fastball was electric down there," said Cora. "Today, he did an amazing job. The split, the slider, a good fastball. He kept them off-balance, making them chase pitches. A really good one for him."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 5, 2021 3:55:04 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h #RedSox 5, #Yankees 2, final.
Sox now 34-23. Yankees are 31-27.
WP—Eovaldi (7-2). LP—King (0-3). Sv—Barnes (13). A—18,040. T—2:49 (Eyes)
There were 25 strikeouts and 1 walk in the game.
#RedSox starters now have a 3.99 ERA. It was 5.34 last season.
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