Sunday night baseball is back! In the first Sunday night game of the season, the Boston Red Sox (0-2) will play the New York Yankees (2-0). Tonight’s game will conclude a three-game series from Yankee Stadium. So far in this series, the New York Yankees won Friday 6-5 in 11 innings and followed that up with a 4-2 win on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday Night Baseball
Pitching Match Up
Tanner Houck will get the start tonight for Boston. In 2021, Houck appeared in 18 games with the Red Sox, compiling a record of 1-5, an ERA of 3.52 in 69 innings pitched. In four games against New York in 2021, he went 0-1 with a 2.7 ERA in 13 1/3 innings pitched. The 25-year-old right-hander is best known for his 4-seam-fastball that averages 94 miles per hour. His fastball is paired with his slider, which averages around 84 miles per hour. He uses both pitches about 80 percent of the time. Houck is a pitcher who can effectively strikeout hitters, averaging over 11 strikeouts per 9. With batters like Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, and Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup, Houck will likely have plenty of strikeouts tonight in the Bronx.
Consequently, Jordan Montgomery will get the start for the Yankees tonight. During the 2021 season, Mongomery had a 6-7, a 3.83 ERA in 157 1/3 innings pitched. Against Boston last season, he was 0-2 with an ERA of 3.29 in 27 1/3 innings. The 29-year-old left-hander has a repertoire of five pitches he uses effectively. His changeup and curveball both average in the low 80s. His sinker, which he will use when facing left-handed batters. He also has his cutter, which averages around 87 miles per hour, and his fastball averages 93 miles per hour.
Holding the Lead
While it is early, the Red Sox have led both of these games before blowing the lead and losing to the Yankees. While it is early in the season, this is not an ideal way to start the season for Boston. So far, the Red Sox have seen great hitting from the top six hitters of the lineup. They need to see better production from the bottom three of the lineup. So far, the seven, eight, and nine hitters have combined for .091/.200/.091. While Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, and Xander Bogaerts have been off to great starts, there needs to be more coming from the bottom of the lineup.
The Bronx Bombers
The New York Yankees have relied on the long ball to cement both victories. In two games, Stanton has hit two Home Runs along with Anthony Rizzo, adding DJ LeMahieu’s home run has produced 80 percent of the Yankees’ runs. After sub-par starts from Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino, the Yankee bullpen has held the lead this series. The Yankees’ bullpen has a combined 0.69 ERA, which is quite different from the starters’ 6.43 ERA.
Game Notes
Tonight’s game marks the 33rd season of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. It will be the debut of a new broadcast crew which will comprise Karl Ravech on the play-by-play, analysts Eduardo Perez (analyst), and five-time World Series Champion David Cone. Senior MLB Insider Buster Olney will also appear in the broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball. A new addition to viewers at home will be an alternative broadcast run by Álex Rodríguez and Michael Kay on ESPN2. Like the Manningcast, ESPN is doing something similar on select Sunday Night Baseball games this season.
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Players mentioned:
Tanner Houck, Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, Jordan Montgomery, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Eduardo Perez, David Cone, Álex Rodríguez, Michael Kay
