Henry Owens (2-1, 4.03 ERA) and Masahiro Tanaka (10-6, 3.62 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Boston Red Sox (61-71) and the New York Yankees (73-58) at Fenway Park. The Yankees won the last game 3-1 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 4:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sep. 2 and can be seen on YES, NESN and MLBN.
Owens pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering one, striking out six and walking four in a 6-4 defeat to the Mets. Mookie Betts (.274, 66 Rs, 13 HRs, 63 RBIs, 17 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Tanaka went 7.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out seven and walking one in a 15-4 win over the Braves in his last outing. Alex Rodriguez (.256, 70 Rs, 26 HRs, 71 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run.
New York takes on Boston as a -145 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Red Sox have an overall money line of -1,262 and a record as the underdog of 27-31. Boston has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 10-13 and 21-30 as the underdog and SU respectively. The Red Sox lead the AL in hits at home with an impressive 10.1 per game. Boston’s pitchers fall apart when division rivals are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game rises to 5.4 against fellow AL East members, compared to its 4.8 season average.
In the other locker room, New York is coming in with an overall money line of +242 and an impressive record of 47-30 as the favorite. They are 17-11 as the favorite against fellow AL East members, and 28-23 SU. Offensively, they average 4.8 runs per game, which is good for second in the AL. The Yankees are tough outs for opponents, ranking fifth in the AL with 8.8 hits per game. New York is excellent at drawing walks with 3.4 per game, ranking third in the AL.
The Yankees lead the season series, 9-5. The Red Sox have a 46-49 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Tanaka takes the mound. Owens (LHP) will be on the hill against the Yankees, who have a 22-15 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYY, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Boston is 30-35, while New York is 29-34.
The Yankees are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Red Sox have a 2-10 record when opponents give up that many walks.
When they outhit their opponents, the Red Sox are 49-8. The Yankees have a 49-7 record when outhitting opponents.
Boston and New York both rank in the top five of the league in runs. Boston sits at third with 594 runs this season and New York ranks second with 633.
Ranking 11th, Boston is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 382 this season. New York ranks in the top five at fourth with 443.
The Red Sox are 46-40 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Yankees are 62-34 when they hit at least one homer.
