Aaron Judge notched dual history with his mammoth first inning home run in last night’s 4-1 series opening win at Fenway, passing Joe DiMaggio for sole possession of fourth place on the franchise home run list while also breaking a tie with Alex Rodriguez for the most first inning home runs in a season in MLB history with 19. The Yankees will lean on the recent upswings in form of their captain and ace Max Fried as they look to secure their first series win from the Red Sox this season.
Max Fried
has been brilliant in his last four starts, allowing five runs over 27 innings (1.67 ERA) while not allowing a single ball to leave the park. The turnaround in form comes at just the right time, the southpaw having pitched to a 6.80 ERA in the previous eight starts spanning the beginning of July though the middle of August. In 29 starts overall, Fried is 16-5 with a 3.02 ERA (135 ERA+), 3.20 FIP, and 163 strikeouts in 176 innings.
Brayan Bello has killed the Yankees this year, making a pair of scoreless starts both lasting seven innings and allowing just three hits each time. It’s a continuation of his overall career success against New York, as he has now made ten appearances in the rivalry pitching to a 1.95 ERA across 60 innings. He’s having a career year, although he is significantly outperforming metrics like expected ERA and expected wOBA as well as his career BABIP, so the hope is that the regression monster finally catches up today. In 26 games, Bello is 11-6 with a 3.12 ERA (133 ERA+), 4.04 FIP, and 114 strikeouts in 152.2 innings.
The Yankees make one notable change to their lineup from last night, Jasson Domínguez replacing Giancarlo Stanton in left field despite the former making an out on the bases the very first batter after being subbed in as a pinch runner yesterday. José Caballero starts again at shortstop after Aaron Boone confirmed that Anthony Volpe would be doubtful for this series as he recovers from a cortisone shot to address a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, Caballero adding a clear advantage with his speed and steady defense.
The Red Sox make more wholesale changes to their lineup with the lefty Fried on the mound. Rob Refsnyder gets the start over Jarren Duran in left. Romy Gonzalez replaces Nathaniel Lowe at first. Nick Sogard subs in for David Hamilton at second. Connor Wong starts at catcher moving Carlos Narváez to DH and Masataka Yoshida to the bench.
How to Watch:
Location: Fenway Park — Boston, MA
First Pitch: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES | NESN | MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 | WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM, WESX 1230 AM
Online stream: Gotham Sports App
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