New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Series Preview

In a just a few hours, the Yankees will play baseball in London, England. Somehow, this two-game set will be just the third series the Bombers have played against the Red Sox this year. The Yankees currently have a commanding lead of the AL East, and have a 4-1 record against Boston. Hopefully they can keep the winning going in the UK. Here are the pitching matchups:

Game One: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Rick Porcello

Per usual, Tanaka has been all over the place this season, but he has pitched well recently. During his last outing, the right-hander limited the Astros to two runs over six innings. He pitched a complete game shutout against Tampa Bay prior to that. This will be his first contest against the Red Sox this season.

Porcello will toe the slab for Boston. The former Cy Young winner has struggled this year, pitching to a 4.52 ERA (5.12 xFIP) across 93.2 innings. His strikeout numbers dipped, and he’s giving out more free passes than ever. Porcello surrendered five earned runs to the Bombers when the two teams faced at the beginning of the month.

Game Two: TBD vs. Eduardo Rodriguez

The Yankees have already decided to use an opener/bullpen day for this game. That means it will likely be Chad Green taking the mound, followed by Nestor Cortes Jr. As annoying as it is that the Yankees don’t have a full rotation at the moment, they are undefeated in games where Green has been used as the opener this season. You can’t argue with those results.

Like Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t pitched very well in 2019 either. He surrendered nine earned runs over his last two starts, and gave up four home runs to the White Sox and Twins combined. His 1.46 HR/9 rate should bode well for the Yankees and their current home run streak.