New York @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( May 7, 2010 ) NY Yankees 10, Boston 3
The New York Yankees struck first. Now it's up to the Boston Red Sox to respond.
The Red Sox will be looking to avoid falling into a deeper hole in the AL East when they face the Yankees on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Boston entered Friday's series opener riding a four-game winning streak and feeling pretty good about having its ace, Josh Beckett, on the mound. The team felt even better after Beckett struck out five of the first six batters he faced.
But it didn't take long for the wheels to come off. Beckett allowed a three-run homer to Nick Swisher in the fourth and unraveled completely in the sixth - yielding four hits and two walks and hitting two batters in a six-run frame - as New York cruised to a 10-3 win in the series opener.
The AL East was billed as a three-team race before the season started, with the Red Sox, Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays racing to see who could be the first to 100 wins. But Friday's loss dropped Boston (15-15) back down to .500 while New York and Tampa Bay fight for the top spot in the division as the only two teams in baseball with 20 or more wins.
To make matters worse, the Red Sox have struggled mightily against their chief competition, going 0-4 against Tampa Bay and dropping to 1-3 against New York after Friday's debacle.
The Yankees have won five in a row and continue to get trememdous starting pitching. Phil Hughes went on Friday and allowed just two runs in seven innings.
Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia are a combined 16-1 and all have ERAs of 2.74 or better.
The great pitching, along with the inspired play of Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano, has helped mask the slow starts of sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, who have combined for four homers and 42 strikeouts. Teixeira is batting a paltry .181.
But Rodriguez showed signs of emerging on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
Rodriguez and company will be looking to inflict some damage upon youngster Clay Buchholz on Saturday. The right-hander, who barely earned a spot in the rotation during spring training, has been the most steady member of the Red Sox staff this season.
Buchholz did not allow more than three earned runs in an outing prior to Monday's start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, when he yielded four on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Boston offense showed up in support, however, handing Buchholz the win.
The 25-year-old has struggled against the Yankees in the past, going 0-1 while allowing 10 runs and 19 hits over 15 2/3 innings spanning three starts.
New York will counter with Sabathia, who went a season-high eight innings while allowing one run to earn a win Monday against the Baltimore Orioles. The hefty left-hander turned in his worst start on opening night against Boston, however, surrendering five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
For his career, Sabathia is 5-5 with a 3.26 ERA against the Red Sox.