New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Jhony Brito vs. Brayan Bello

The Bombers limp home from an abject road trip which saw the team go 2-7 against the White Sox, Marlins, and Braves. They haven’t won a series since the third week of July against the terrible Royals and find themselves below .500 this late in the season for the first time in three decades. They’re last in the division, 6.5 games out of the final Wild Card with two teams (tonight’s opposition as well as the Mariners) between them and the Blue Jays, with FanGraphs assigning them a 2.3-percent chance of making the playoffs. Bleak, yet there is still baseball to be played, so let’s see what’s on tap for tonight.

Jhony Brito continues his run in the rotation as the Yankees navigate injuries to their normal starters. He’s pitched much better in relief (1.50 ERA) than as a starter (5.54 ERA), aided by his last two appearances — a pair of relief outings against the Astros and Marlins, holding opponents to a run on three hits and two walks against eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings. In 15 total appearances (12 starts), Brito is 4-5 with a 4.76 ERA (89 ERA+), 5.51 FIP, and 47 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.

Brayan Bello has been the one consistent starter for the Red Sox, leading the team in starts and innings pitched in his sophomore season. He certainly seems to enjoy pitching against the Yankees, with a 1.44 ERA, 2.48 FIP, and 21:8 strikeout to walk ratio in four starts totaling 25 innings including a pair of seven-inning outings this season. Across his 20 starts this year, Bello is 8-7 with a 3.81 ERA (121 ERA+), 4.44 FIP, and 96 strikeouts in 113.1 innings.

The Yankees make precious few changes to the lineup that failed to score a run while managing just five hits across the final two games against the Braves. Only three of their hitters (Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, and Billy McKinney) have performed better than league average at the plate, and at this point the biggest changes concern who bats where in the lineup. In other words, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

The Red Sox meanwhile have just two players in their lineup who are below league average in offensive production. One is Trevor Story, who understandably has looked rusty in his eight games back after recovering from Tommy John surgery, while the other is Reese McGuire, a catcher. Otherwise, Brito will have his hands full navigating the seventh-best offense in baseball in terms of slugging.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Apple TV+

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280

Online stream: Apple exclusive

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