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I feel like there hasn't been a truly meaningful Yankees game at Fenway Park in quite some time. It's still the rivalry that it is, but the only thing at stake here are the Yankees' playoff chances. But of course, bettering your playoff odds at the expense of the Red Sox is all the more enjoyable.
The Yankees will be facing Eduardo Rodriguez tonight, and he comes into this game with a 106 ERA-/111 FIP- in 92.1 innings this year. It isn't spectacular, but this is a young guy with room to grow. This is by no means the worst that the Red Sox rotation has to offer. The Red Sox as a whole have been dreadful, and they're currently 60-70 on the season with a 98 wRC+ and 109 ERA-. They're bad, folks.
In response, Joe Girardi has tried to stack this lineup with as many right-handed hitters as possible. Chris Young gets the start over Brett Gardner in left field, and I would imagine it's a regularly scheduled day off combined with this platoon advantage; Brendan Ryan gets the start over Stephen Drew for likely the same reasons. Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup after a few much-needed days off, and Mark Teixeira remains absent as he'll get more tests done on his right leg in New York. My fingers are crossed. Ivan Nova gets the start for the Yankees, and he's hoping to recover from his game in Houston, where he allowed seven earned runs over just four innings. Give me Good Nova this time.