Red Sox Looking for First Series Victory of 2011 Season
The Boston Red Sox finally got off the schneid on Friday night, beating the arch-rival New York Yankees 9-6 for their first victory of the 2011 season.
Unfortunately, the euphoria was short-lived, as Clay Buchholz and the Sox bullpen got slapped around by Russell Martin and the rest of the Yankees en route to a 9-4 loss.
The good news is that the Sox still have a chance to claim their first series of the season on Sunday night. The bad news is that they will have to do so against Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia, and that Josh Beckett is the man charged with keeping the latest version of the Bronx Bombers at bay.
If you are unaware why that last part constitutes "bad news," just know that Beckett had an ERA over 10.00 in five starts against the Yanks last year. That was over just 26 innings, a period in which Beckett allowed nine home runs.
Translation: the Bombers have Beckett's number. Clearly, relying on him to hang a few goose eggs on Fenway Park's hand-operated scoreboard is not a good idea. The Sox had better break out the bats.
The Red Sox do have some guys with good track records against Sabathia. Mike Cameron, who will probably get the start in right field tonight, hit's .500 off the big lefty. Kevin Youkilis hits .409 off him, Marco Scutaro hits at .321, and Carl Crawford hits .296.
That's about the extent of Boston's offensive advantage, however. Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Adrian Gonzalez all hit worse than .230 off Sabathia.
Make no mistake, this is a matchup that doesn't favor the Sox. This is a game that will end up being a) a barn burner or b) a blowout in the Yankees' favor.
If you're already crossing your fingers for option a, let me leave you with one last encouraging tidbit: Sabathia had a 7.20 ERA in two starts at Fenway last season.
For the record, that does not mean you should uncross your fingers.
For more baseball coverage, check out our list of The 25 Best Players in MLB Right Now.
Hal Gill John Madden Petr Kalus Colton Gilies Justin Falk Robbie Eal
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