The Boston Red Sox (41-45) and New York Yankees (46-39) will meet for the third time this season and this three-game series at Fenway Park will be a crucial one as the All-Star break approaches in a few days. Clay Buccholz will kick things off against Michael Pineda on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Pineda has yet to face the Red Sox this season, but he'll take an 8-5 record with a 3.79 ERA and 1.21 WHIP into tonight's matchup. The right-hander has faltered at times this season, but his 105 strikeouts in 99 2/3 innings proves he's a force to be reckoned with and he's coming off two tremendous wins against the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays.
The 26-year-old surrendered two earned runs on 12 hits and one walk while striking out 18 batters in 15 innings of work in those two contests.
On the other hand, Buchholz has faced the Yankees this year, but it wasn't a memorable outing for the right-hander. Buchholz gave up 10 runs (nine earned) on nine hits and two walks in just 3 1/3 innings against New York back on April 12 (which was a Sunday Night Baseball game).
However, the 30-year-old is seemingly a completely different pitcher now and the Yankees' lineup will have their hands full. Buchholz has let up one earned run or less in his last four starts, during which he is 4-0) and he has established himself as the best starter on the Red Sox's staff with his 3.27 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 104 strikeouts in 17 starts (110 innings) this year.
Boston could not have asked for a better time for Buchholz to find his groove. The Sox looked dead to rights back in mid-June when they were 28-39, but they've enjoyed a nice run ever since (13-6) to improve to 41-45. No, it's not a great record, but it keeps them in contention in the AL East, where the Yankees lead them by 5.5 games.
A sweep of New York could really turn the tables heading into the All-Star break.
But not so fast. The Yankees rank second in the MLB with 393 runs scored and have been successful against Buchholz over the years. The right-hander has been knocked around by the Bronx Bombers in 16 starts and owns a 5-8 record with a 6.38 ERA and 1.65 WHIP.
Boston's offense is also one of the best in the league and ranks 10th with 364 runs scored. Pineda has had trouble against some of the league's better offenses this year, such as the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles, but he has also dominated the high-powered Blue Jays (1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 12 strikeouts in two starts).
If you're a big baseball fan, this weekend series between the Red Sox and Yankees is about as good as it gets. Both pitchers enter tonight's matchup on a roll and both clubs need to make sure they go into the All-Star break will as much momentum as possible.
The Red Sox have a bad taste in their mouth from their last series against the Yankees. New York swept their rivals in Boston and Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays with his 660th career home run in the top of the eighth inning to break the 2-2 tie during the first game of the series.
But outfielder Mookie Betts and shortstop Xander Bogaerts are red hot and look to give Pineda some trouble and get the Red Sox off to a good start tonight.
Check out the live stream for Friday night's game here as well as the live radio broadcast here (BOS) or here (NYY).
