The 9-6 (Road: 5-4) New York Yankees take on the 9-6 (Home: 7-2) Boston Red Sox at 7:10 EST tonight as part of our Baseball Instinct Game of the day!
TV: New York – YES, Boston – NESN . On the Net – MLB.tv
Radio: Yankees – WCBS 880, 92.7 WQBU, Red Sox – WRKO 680, SBN 1150. On the Net – Game day audio.
Here’s a closer fantasy look at the game of the day!
Probable Yankees starting pitcher: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 5.06 ERA in 2009)
From Sports network – New York will pin its hopes on right-hander Joba Chamberlain, who is still searching for his first win of the season. Chamberlain’s bats saved him a loss last Friday against Cleveland, which battered him for five runs and six hits in just 4 2/3 innings. Chamberlain also walked five batters, but did not get a decision in his team’s 6-5 win.
The 23-year-old hurler has also posted a perfect 2-0 record against the Red Sox with a 3.12 ERA in six games (two starts).
Probable Red Sox starting pitcher: LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 5.50 ERA in 2009)
From Adam Markowitz of JustBet – Manager Terry Francona will hand the ball to his #1 lefty, Jon Lester. The lefty was a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate last season, as he went 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 33 starts, but he hasn’t looked the part so far this season. In three starts, Lester has been roughed up for 11 runs, but in his last outing against Baltimore, he was dominant, throwing seven shutout frames and only allowed six base runners for his first victory of the season. No one touched Lester at Fenway Park last season, as he went a startling 11-1 with a miniscule 2.49 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 17 outings. He dominated the Yanks last year as well, going 2-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in three starts.
2009 Fantasy hitting assets for the Yankees: 2B Robinson Cano is hitting .367 with 3 hr’s, 9 rbis’ and 13 runs. OF Nick Swisher is hitting .306 with 4 hr’s, 6 doubles, 12 rbis and has drawn 10 walks.
Who’s hot: 1B Mark Teixeira has 7 hits in the last 5 games, including 2 hr’s. His average is only .222, but it appears that he is coming around.
Who’s not: 3B Cody Ransom. Is A-rod back yet? Ransom has struck out 14 times in 47 ab’s, while hitting .170, yeah, it’s not pretty.
Worth keeping an eye on: OF Melky Cabrera. He’s making the most of his playing time, hitting .304 with 4 hr’s in just 23 ab’s. Perhaps hes coming of age in 2009.
2009 Fantasy hitting assets for the Red Sox: 1B Kevin Youkilis is hitting .429 with 4 hr’s and 12 rbi’s. 3B Mike Lowell appears to be healthy and is hitting .315 with 3 hr’s and 16 rbi’s.
Who’s hot: Lowell is in the midst of a 7 game hitting streak, going 13 for 28 with 5 extra base hits and 14 rbi’s.
Who’s not: DH David Ortiz spends more time giving his opinions than on improving his declining game, as evident by his .220 average with no hr’s and 16 strikeouts. He’s well on his way to a personal high in strike outs.
Worth keeping an eye on: 2B Dustin Pedroia’s .286 avg, with 1 hr and 2 sb’s isn’t horrible, but we expect a lot more out of the 2008 AL MVP. It looks like hes about to turn the corner.
2009 Fantasy pitching assets for the Yankees: Nick Swisher and little else. All jokes aside, RP Mariano has 4 saves and 8 k’s while not giving up a run in 7 innings. SP Andy Pettitte is 2-0 with a 2.53 era to go with 10 k’s in 21.1 innings.
Who’s hot: Mo Rivera. He hasn’t issued a walk or given up a run yet this season.
Who’s not: SP AJ Burnett started the season off with 2 wins, striking out 15 while walking 2. In his last outing he only struck out 2 and walked 7. It’s likely he will shake it off his next time out.
Worth keeping an eye on: SP CC Sabathia is no stranger to slow starts. This is in an optimal time to prosue him, there are many CC owner’s out there growing frustrated with his high era and low strike out numbers. Make a deal.
2009 Fantasy pitching assets for the Red Sox: SP Josh Beckett is 2-1 with 3.79 era and 20 k’s. SP Tim Wakefield is 2-1 with a 2.45 era and 12 k’s. Relief pitchers Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarman, and Jonathan Papelbon have combined for 4 saves and 3 holds while striking out 13 and allowing only 1 run in 26 innings. It’s tough do anything against this trio.
Who’s hot: SP Jon Lester went 7 innings, giving up no runs, striking out 9 and walking 2 at home vs Baltimore the last time out.
Who’s not: SP Daisuke Matsuzaka has been on the DL since April 15th after stinking up the joint with a 12.79 era in just 6.1 innings.
Worth keeping an eye on: SP Brad Penny went 6 innings in a quality start win on Wednesday. It’s too soon to declare him “back”, but this is a nice step.
KEY STAT: The teams split 18 meetings in 2008, and they’re separated by just four games (New York is 65-61) in the head-to-head series since the beginning of 2003, including playoffs.
CONNECTIONS: Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell played for the Yankees in 1998. Yankees OF Johnny Damon played for the Red Sox from 2002 to 2005. Yankees OF Xavier Nady and Red Sox OF Jason Bay played together from 2006 to 2008 with the Pirates. Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell, SP Brad Penny and SP Josh Beckett played with Yankees SP AJ Burnett from 2001 to 2004 on the Marlins.
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