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Yankees face struggling Red Sox Thursday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 4/27/2017  at  10:41:00 AM
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NEW YORK YANKEES (12-7)

at BOSTON RED SOX (11-9)

First pitch: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: New York +160, Boston -170, Total: 7.5

The Yankees will be going for a two-game sweep over the Red Sox on Thursday.

New York defeated Boston 3-1 on Wednesday night, and Luis Severino pitched a gem for the Yankees in that one. Severino threw seven innings of shutout baseball, striking out six batters and walking only two. RHP Masahiro Tanaka (6-2, 6.00 ERA, 19 K) will be hoping for a similar performance on Thursday, but this season has been a bit rocky for the 28-year-old. On the mound for Boston in this game will be LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 0.91 ERA, 42 K), who has been dominant since the Sox acquired him in the offseason. Sale will be hoping to help the team end its recent struggles in this one. One trend that stands out when looking at this game is the fact that New York is 24-7 against the money line when the total is between 7 and 8.5 over the past two seasons with Tanaka on the mound. The Yankees are, however, just 9-23 against the money line in road games after having won two of their past three games in that span. As for injuries, SS Didi Gregorius (Shoulder) is expected back in the next series for New York. C Gary Sanchez (Bicep) will also be back soon. 2B Dustin Pedroia (Knee), meanwhile, is questionable for Boston, which is going to be without 3B Pablo Sandoval (Knee) for the next couple of games.

The Yankees have been one of the more surprising teams in baseball, as many considered them to be a bottom dweller in the AL East this season. New York is currently second in the AL East, and knows that a win on Thursday would be big. Tanaka will be the guy on the hill in this one, and he is coming off of his best start of the season. The righty faced the White Sox on Apr. 19 and pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Tanaka struck out six in that game, and he is definitely hoping that his early season struggles are behind him. Offensively, OF Aaron Judge (.281 BA, 7 HR, 15 RBI) is on a tear for the Yankees. Judge has homered four times in the past seven games, and he has seen his average rise from .250 on Apr. 18 to .281 on Apr. 26. And while Sale is another animal on the mound, Judge has the best shot of any to get to the lefty on Thursday. 3B Chase Headley (.333 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI) could also do some damage at the plate, as he is batting .385 with a double and two RBI against Sale in his career.

The Red Sox are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Yankees on Wednesday, but they now have Chris Sale on the mound on Thursday. Sale has been nearly unhittable this season, allowing two or fewer earned runs in seven or more innings in all four of his starts this season. He has struck out double-digit batters in three straight, and now faces a Yankees team that he has dominated in his career. Look for him to put in some excellent work in this one. Offensively, the Sox will be hoping that guys like OF Mookie Betts (.324 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI) and 1B Hanley Ramirez (.215 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI) will be able to figure out their issues with Tanaka. The two of them are a combined 5-for-31 against the righty in their careers, and the Sox are counting on them to come through on Thursday.


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