Masahiro Tanaka (0-1, 9.00 ERA) and the New York Yankees (1-4) go up against Clay Buchholz (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and the Boston Red Sox (4-1) in the last of a three-game division series at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox won the last game 8-4 and Boston leads the series 2-0. The game starts at 8:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Apr. 12 and will air on ESPN.
In his most recent outing, Tanaka pitched 4.0 innings, giving up four runs (one unearned), striking out six and walking two in a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. Alex Rodriguez (.278 ) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. In his career against the Yankees, Buchholz is 5-7 with a 5.64 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts. Hanley Ramirez (.318 ) has been hitting the ball well to start the season, going 3 for 9 yesterday.
New York is a slight -111 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs. When playing as the favorite, the Yankees have a 1-2 record and overall money line at -234. They have not performed well against their division, earning an SU record of 1-3 and a 1-2 record when they were the favorite. The Yankees are a dangerous hitting team with 16 extra base hits, one of the highest totals in the MLB. Transitioning to the pitching staff, an area where the Yankees are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 9.7 K’s per game.
On the other side, the Red Sox have started off the season 2-0 when they’re the underdog and are +166 overall with the money line. Boston has an eye for the strike zone, averaging an AL-best 5.7 walks per game. Switching gears to Boston’s pitching staff, they have a WHIP of 0.89 on the year, good for fifth in the league.
The previous two games have all gone Boston’s way.
Predictions: SU Winner – BOS, O/U – Over
Notes
For the second time this season, the Yankees registered at least two errors in a game.
The Red Sox are 1-0 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Yankees are 0-1 in such matchups.
The Red Sox are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 11 strikeouts. The Yankees have a record of 0-2 when they are struck out that many times or more.
When outhit, both the Yankees and the Red Sox have records of 0-4.
Ranking 11th in runs, New York has earned 17 this season. Boston ranks second with 30 runs.
Ranking first in walks, Boston has earned 30 this season. New York ranks third with 19 walks.
When the Yankees hit at least one home run, they are 0-4. When the Red Sox hit at least one homer, they have a 2-0 record.
