New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Néstor Cortes Jr. vs. Nick Pivetta

The road trip got off to an excellent start for the Yankees, walloping the Red Sox out of the gate en route to an easy win. They’re going to need more of that offense, because every game is vital to staying afloat at this point — and because knocking the Sox down a peg wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, either.

Néstor Cortes Jr. will be the man looking to continue the good times today, and he’s been a big part of getting the team back on track in the first place. His ascension to the starting rotation has been a major boost for a staff that has struggled to get consistent starts from anyone not named Gerrit Cole or Jordan Montgomery. His last outing on September 20th against Texas displayed more of his unique way of striking out batters, but he didn’t manage to make it through five innings in a start for the first time since July 9th. Cortes has pitching in Fenway once this season, but it was in relief and it didn’t go great — look for him to get some redemption today.

Nick Pivetta will try to answer Cortes on the mound for the Sox. Pivetta’s struggled of late, giving up 16 runs in 19.2 innings, and he got smacked around by the Orioles his last time out. Overall Pivetta’s been pretty reliable in Boston, returning to his role as a full-time starter after a trade last season sent him over from Philadelphia. He’s not an innings-eater though, going farther than six innings of work only three times this season, so the Yankees would be incentivized to work him over.

How to watch

Location: Fenway Park — Boston, MA

First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: YES, NESN, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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