After David Price pitched well — but not well enough — in Wednesday afternoon's 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox will be without their No. 2 starter in the upcoming series against the Yankees.
That may have been planned, as Price struggled in the Bronx last postseason and has a career 4.85 ERA against the Yankees.
Without Price, Boston will turn to Rick Porcello, Andrew Cashner, Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale — likely in that order — in the four-game series at Fenway.
The probable starting matchups, based on each team's recent rotation, go as follows (ERA in parentheses):
Thursday: Rick Porcello (5.61) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (4.00)
Friday: Andrew Cashner (7.36*) vs. James Paxton (4.20)
Saturday: Eduardo Rodriguez (4,10) vs. CC Sabathia (4.50)
Sunday: Chris Sale (4.00) vs. Domingo German (4.03)
*in two starts with Boston
The four-game series projects to be especially high scoring, as no projected starter has a sub-four ERA. And that's beside the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox have the first and third best offenses in baseball based on runs per game.
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After taking two of three from the Rays, the Red Sox are two games out of the second Wild Card spot. Though the 10-plus lead the Yankees hold in the division may be insurmountable, this series against the Bombers could be crucial in the Red Sox's pursuit of a playoff spot ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
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