New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Clarke Schmidt vs. Brayan Bello

The long wait for a Yankees vs. Red Sox matchup in 2023 has been rewarded with a tense series, and on Sunday Night Baseball, both sides will be targeting a knockout blow in the rubber match of this three-game affair.

The opening two contests have been marked by solid pitching throughout, with a total of 10 runs scored by both teams. The Red Sox took the first one, 3-2, and last night, it was the Yankees who eked out a 3-1 win thanks to good situational pitching and timely homers from Gleyber Torres and Willie Calhoun.

For the finale, it will be a battle of a couple of young promising arms in Clarke Schmidt, and Brayan Bello. It’s been a tough go for the Red Sox starter in terms of run support, as despite allowing only six runs across his past three starts combined (17 IP), he’s taken the L in each of them. The Yankees will look to make it four in a row.

Schmidt much like Bello has also pitched well as of late, coming off four strong outings, allowing two or fewer earned runs, and going at least five full innings in each of them. The Yankees are 2-2 in those four games. The White Sox—and specifically Seby Zavala—got to him for three runs on six hits in a loss during the opener of this homestand, though the New York offense didn’t give him much run support at all.

With the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays all having won earlier in the day, the pressure is on for both the Yankees and Red Sox to win and keep pace in the fiercely competitive AL East.

Riding a bit off a hot streak with extra-base knocks in each of his past three games, Calhoun gets the nod as the leadoff hitter for this Sunday Night game. He got hit by a pitch during live batting practice today and had to leave the field, but the tingling in his elbow quickly went away and he will still play tonight. Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe are off tonight, as Josh Donaldson steps in at DH with DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera covering the left side of the infield.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: ESPN

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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