Boston @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 18, 2010 ) Boston 7, NY Yankees 6
It’s do-or-die time for the Boston Red Sox as they begin a four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
With Kevin Youkilis officially lost for the season, the Red Sox will pin their playoff hopes on their starting pitching. Clay Buchholz gets the call in the opener against the Yankees’ Javier Vazquez.
Youkilis will have surgery on Friday and will miss the remainder of the season, according to Boston manager Terry Francona.
The first baseman suffered a torn muscle in his right thumb in Monday night’s game against the Indians. Francona said the thumb will be immobilized for approximately six weeks and then be re-evaluated from there.
The Red Sox believe that if the procedure is done immediately, Youkilis will be ready for the start of spring training.
Mike Lowell is expected to get the start at first base in the critical series. Boston trails the Yankees by six games American League East and Tampa Bay by 5 1/2 in the wild-card race.
Should the Red Sox get swept in the series, they could fall completely out of the race.
New York has a history of sweeping Boston in these troubled times. The Yankees swept Boston in August last year and also in 2006. The massacre of 2006 came on the heels of a rash of injuries that left Boston’s lineup reeling and resulted in the last time the Red Sox missed the playoffs.
The circumstances sound eerily familiar.
Boston enters this four-game set with Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Cameron and Jason Varitek among those on the disabled. The Red Sox got back the services of center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury on Wednesday, but he is 0-for-8 in his return.
The Red Sox gained a split of a four-game series with the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night. Adrian Beltre cracked a grand slam to back winning pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-3), who pitched eight strong innings.
While the Red Sox offense has struggled due to the injuries, their pitching staff has been solid lately. Only Jon Lester, who’s lost a career-high four straight games, is struggling and two of his defeats in that stretch have been solid performances.
Buchholz is 0-2 lifetime against the Yankees. He was hammered by New York 14-3 in his only appearance against them this year. In that game, he allowed six runs on nine hits and five walks in five-plus innings.
He has won five of his last six decisions overall.
The Yankees reclaimed the lead in the AL East by a half game after Tampa Bay lost to Minnesota on Thursday. New York is just 5-5 in its last 10 games but is 35-18 at Yankee Stadium.
Vazquez got credit for the win in his only appearance against the Red Sox this season. After he got the final out of the ninth inning with Boston leading 9-7, New York rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth on home runs by Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames off Jonathan Papelbon.
Overall, Vazquez is just 3-7 against the Red Sox with a 4.21 ERA but the majority of those appearances came with other teams. New York has won the Vazquez’s last three starts.
The circus surrounding A-Rod is also over. Rodriguez ended a 3-for-33 slump by blasting his elusive 600th home run on Wednesday. Rodriguez said after the game that he was feeling pressure getting to the number.