Old Style Rivalries

The Red Sox and Yankees kick off a pivotal four-game series in Fenway Park on Thursday. Before diving into the broader historical context, compelling narratives to watch and wide-ranging playoff implications, let’s take a brief look at the projected pitching matchups.

Thursday: C.C. Sabathia (6-4, 3.53 ERA) vs. Brian Johnson (1-3, 3.45 ERA)
Friday: Luis Severino (14-4, 2.94 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (13-4, 4.03 ERA)
Saturday: J.A. Happ (11-6, 4.05 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (4-4, 3.80 ERA)
Sunday: Masahiro Tanaka (9-2, 3.84 ERA) vs. David Price (11-6, 3.97 ERA)

Here’s an oversimplification: The battle for American League East supremacy features a collision between a pair of well-funded, monolithic institutions. The irresistible David versus Goliath relationship, which energized fans on both sides of the rivalry for decades leading up to a climactic 2004 campaign, is long-gone. The intensity and emotion between the two teams has evaporated since the halcyon days of Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez scuffling at home plate. Iconic personalities and transcendent, generational talents like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz are mere memories. Nearly fifteen years later, this clash at its core is a Goliath versus Goliath slugfest. Per Baseball-Reference, the two franchises have spent nearly $450 million ($438.8 million to be exact) on player salaries this season. That extreme financial advantage manifests itself in the sheer quantity of talent spread across their entire major-league rosters. There are very few weaknesses in the traditional sense of the word in either clubhouse.

That’s not to say that these teams are devoid of upper-echelon, elite talent. That’s hardly the case. Aaron Judge, who will miss this series due to a fractured wrist, and Mookie Betts are young, franchise cornerstones and perennial MVP candidates. The infusion of veteran, middle-of-the-order sluggers like J.D. Martinez and Giancarlo Stanton adds additional fuel to the fire. Let’s also not forget about youngsters Andrew Benintendi and Gleyber Torres, who are on the precipice of evolving into full-fledged stars. The staggering amount of talent up and down these two rosters is what makes this such an intriguing matchup.  

It’s the first time in years the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry has legitimate buzz, real stakes and massive playoff ramifications. The Yankees (68-38) trail the Red Sox (75-34) by 5 1/2 games and hold a six-game lead over the Mariners and Athletics in the Wild Card race. If the Yankees are going to push the Red Sox for the division crown, it has to start with a strong showing this weekend because these two teams will not meet again until September 18.

From a pure fantasy standpoint, the overwhelming majority of performances to focus on in this series are on the pitching side of the ledger. Boston finds itself in a vulnerable position without their ace Chris Sale, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation Tuesday. The southpaw is only expected to miss one start, but it means that the Red Sox will have to rely on untested rotation arms like Johnson and Eovaldi. It also places additional pressure on Price in the series finale on Sunday night. The mercurial lefty was lit up for eight runs on five homers in the Bronx on July 1.

New York has some question marks of their own besides Sonny Gray, who was lit up yet again on Wednesday. The magnifying glass will be trained on Severino, who owns a disastrous 8.84 ERA over his last four starts dating back to July 7. The 24-year-old possesses an electric fastball/slider combo, but he’s been hit hard in recent weeks, giving up seven home runs over 19 1/3 innings during that span. If his struggles against weaker competition are a harbinger, New York could be in trouble. It’s worth noting that Tanaka is enjoying one of the best runs of his career. He hasn’t allowed a run in 15 innings, while racking up 17 strikeouts in two starts since the All-Star break. Unless we hop in a time machine, we can never go back to the fever-pitch level of intensity we witnessed in 2004. However, this weekend’s Red Sox-Yankees series has plenty of potential.

Johnny Cueto To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

The Giants announced that Johnny Cueto will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Thursday to repair an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow. The 32-year-old righty was attempting to pitch through a UCL injury, but posted an ugly 6.86 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and a 12/7 K/BB ratio in four starts since returning from the disabled list on July 5. Not only will he miss the remainder of the 2018 campaign, but given the timing of the surgery, he may not be able to pitch again until 2020. He's signed through 2021, with a club option for the 2022 season.

Obviously, it’s a massive blow to the Giants’ rotation and fantasy owners that invested a mid-round pick on Cueto as a potential bounce-back candidate this spring. San Francisco has been crippled by injuries to their rotation this year. Madison Bumgarner missed the first nine weeks of the season with a fractured left pinkie finger and has been limited to 10 starts. Jeff Samardzija has made just 10 starts due to injury and was placed back on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation on July 15. 31-year-old southpaw Derek Holland has been a pleasant surprise as a reclamation project, compiling a 3.90 ERA over 24 appearances (20 starts). The lone bright spot for the Giants pitching staff, besides lights-out closer Will Smith, has been rookie sensation Dereck Rodriguez. The 26-year-old righty owns a 2.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 54/18 K/BB ratio over 12 appearances (10 starts) this season.   

American League Quick Hits: There was no resolution in Roberto Osuna's domestic assault case during a Wednesday hearing in Toronto. His next court date is scheduled for September 5. Osuna was traded to the Astros Monday and is eligible to be activated from his 75-game domestic violence suspension Sunday. … Carlos Correa (back) will play seven innings at shortstop in his rehab debut Thursday at Double-A Corpus Christi. … Jose Altuve (knee) is expected to begin running and hitting on Friday. … George Springer (shoulder) was held out of the Astros’ lineup on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. ... Xander Bogaerts is likely to miss Thursday's series opener against the Yankees with soreness in his right wrist. ... Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he is “optimistic” about J.A. Happ being able to start against the Red Sox on Saturday. He was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease earlier this week. … Boone also told reporters that he won't rule out removing Sonny Gray, who was lit up for seven runs in a loss to the Orioles on Wednesday, from the rotation ... Gleyber Torres went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBI in that loss. ... Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 batters and fired 7 1/3 shutout innings Wednesday in the Indians’ win over the Twins. ... Brad Hand recorded the final five outs to pick up his 26th save and preserve that victory. ... Nelson Cruz connected for his 26th home run of the season in a loss to the Astros. ... Marcus Stroman was roughed up for seven runs across five-plus innings of work in a loss to the Athletics. ...Tyler Glasnow struck out five batters, issued one walk and allowed one run over three innings in his Rays debut. ...Tommy Pham started in left field and batted cleanup in his Rays debut. ... Jake Bauers went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a pair of walks in the Rays win over the Angels. ... Mallex Smith stole a pair of bases in that contest. He’s up to 20 thefts on the year. ... Alex Gordon went 2-for-4 with a dinger and four RBI in the Royals lopsided win over the White Sox. ... Yoan Moncada hit his 14th homer in that loss. ... Mike Fiers was removed from his start Wednesday versus the Reds due to a left shin contusion. ... Shane Greene worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 23rd save Wednesday in Detroit’s win over the Reds. ... Kyle Seager (paternity leave) will return to the Mariners’ lineup for Thursday's series opener against the Blue Jays. ... Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that Robinson Cano has been working out at first and third base in the Dominican Republic. He's eligible to be activated from his 80-game suspension on August 14. ... Blake Snell threw a successful bullpen session on Wednesday. ... Byron Buxton was placed on the minor-league disabled list with a strained left wrist. ... The Astros optioned Kyle Tucker to Triple-A Fresno...The Athletics optioned Dustin Fowler to Triple-A Nashville. ... The Rays designated Adeiny Hechavarria for assignment ... The Mariners signed Mark Rzepczynski to a minor-league contract.

National League Quick Hits: Chris Archer will make his Pirates debut on Friday night at PNC Park against the Cardinals. ... Kevin Gausman is expected to make his Braves debut against the Mets on Saturday. … Yu Darvish told reporters that he "felt good" after his bullpen session Wednesday. ... DJ LeMahieu faced live pitching on Wednesday and expects to be activated before Thursday's game against the Cardinals. ... Justin Turner (groin) will be activated from the disabled list Thursday. ... Brian Dozier went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in his Dodgers debut Wednesday. He batted fifth and played second base. … Lorenzo Cain went 3-for-4 and finished a homer shy of the cycle in the Brewers loss to the Dodgers. ... Jonathan Schoop batted fourth and played second base, going 0-for-5 at the plate in his Brewers debut. ... Noah Syndergaard gave up three runs over seven innings against the Nationals in his return from a brief stint on the 10-day disabled list with hand, foot and mouth disease. ... Anthony Rendon clubbed his 16th homer in the Nationals win over the Mets. … Trea Turner stole a pair of bases in that win. He leads the majors with 28 thefts this season. ... Willson Contreras went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI in the Cubs victory over the Pirates. ... Cole Hamels struck out nine batters over five innings in his Cubs debut. … Ross Stripling (toe) expects to be activated from the disabled list to start against the Rockies next week. … Kolten Wong will make a rehab start on Thursday for Low-A Peoria. ... Corey Dickerson (hamstring) is hoping to return from the disabled list on Saturday against the Cardinals. ... Yoenis Cespedes will undergo surgery to remove calcification from his right heel on Thursday. He’s expected to miss the next 8-10 months. ... Brent Suter underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow on Tuesday. … Steven Matz will have his left forearm examined on Wednesday or Thursday. ... J.P. Crawford (hand) has shifted his minor league rehab assignment to High-A Clearwater. ... Jay Bruce (hip) resumed swinging a bat on Wednesday. ... Todd Frazier (ribs) went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in a minor league rehab game with Low-A Brooklyn. ... Phillip Evans will undergo an MRI on his left knee Thursday. ... The Braves optioned Kolby Allard to Triple-A Gwinnett. ... The Nationals designated Shawn Kelley for assignment. … The Cardinals released Greg Holland.