New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox: Clarke Schmidt vs. Nick Robertson

A couple hours after being blanked in the matinee, the Yankees will take another crack at the Red Sox. Boston took the top half of the doubleheader 5-0, and as a “glass half-full” type of guy, I’ll say the Yankees will look to reclaim their share of fourth place. Clarke Schmidt will take on what is likely a conglomerate of Boston arms in this rivalry’s 2023 finale.

Schmidt had initially been scheduled for Monday’s rainout before being pushed back to Wednesday ... which was also a wash. So the third time will be the charm for him with no rain in the forecast. Schmidt gets the starting nod for the 29th time this season, the second-most of any Yankee starter. Since his mid-August blow-up against Atlanta, the righty has pitched quite well over four starts, working a 3.47 ERA and sub-3 FIP over 23.1 innings, striking out 26 opposing batters along the way. In his last start against the Sox, Schmidt gave up two runs over 5.2 innings, striking out a season-high eight Bostonians.

Right-hander Nick Robertson will get the ball from Alex Cora as Boston’s opener in Game 2. He has appeared in 13 games this season, all out of the ‘pen, and has a 6.06 ERA, 3.50 FIP, and 1.776 WHIP, so decidedly mixed results at best. Robertson came over to the Red Sox in the midseason trade that sent Kiké Hernández back to LA.

Since Robertson threw 21 pitches just two days ago, don’t expect him to last more than an inning or two. Tanner Houck went six strong in Game 1, needing only Garrett Whitlock and Chris Martin to finish things off. Thus, the Sox will have a mostly full bullpen at their disposal for Game 2, with everyone else having at least a full day of rest with Wednesday’s rainout.

Austin Wells handled the matinee behind the plate, so Kyle Higashioka will step in for him in the nightcap. Everson Pereira is mired in a 4-for-28 slump with an unsettling 14 strikeouts, so he’ll take a breather and actually be replaced in the shallow left field by typical DH Giancarlo Stanton, who sat in the opener. So Aaron Judge handles DH duties and DJ LeMahieu will lead off at first base after getting the day game off as well (relegating Jake Bauers to a deserved place on the bench).

Follow along as the Bombers and Sox wrap up their season series.

How to watch

Location: Fenway Park — Boston, MA

First pitch: 7:15 PM ET

TV broadcast: FOX

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), WEEI 93.7, WAMG 890 AM (SP), WCCM 1490 AM (SP) (BOS)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out of market only)

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