Red Sox look to catch up to Yankees
The biggest game in baseball is the Red Sox v Yankees and this weekend the series for the Red Sox is even bigger than normal.
Already five games behind their most hated foe the Red Sox simply cannot afford to lose any more ground on the Yankees and if they happen to get swept, Red Sox nation might be calling a state of emergency.
The Sox are finally above .500, the first time since they beat New York on opening night, and enter the weekend with a four game winning streak after sweeping the LA Angels in four games.
Another encouraging sign for the Sox is the play of Dustin Pedroia who is hitting .303 and against the Angels had six hits and three walks. His defence has also caught the eye and if he continues his good form the Yankees could have some trouble getting the small second basemen out.
But the Yankees have their own special second baseman in Robinson Cano, who entering the weekend is hitting .362 with nine home runs, 21 RBI and a 1.100 OPS. The duel between Pedroia should be fun, a view Pedroia certainly shares.
“He’s on another level, man. Fun to watch, I’d definitely pay to watch him hit, the way he plays.
I think everyone has seen it. That first week at our place, the way he swung the bat. He hits every pitch. There really isn’t a flaw in his swing. It’s pretty fun to watch,” Pedroia said.
Boston will have their ace, Josh Beckett, on the mound for Friday night’s game and although he might be their ace he hasn’t pitched like one, not receiving a decision since beating New York on opening and posting an ERA of 6.31.
The Sox will also have Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester pitching this weekend, which on paper looks great considering the way both of them have in their recent starts, but the Yankees throw out their own fireballers in CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, who are a combined 8-1 this season. In fact all of New York’s starting pitchers this weekend are a combined 11-1.
Boston hasn’t played well all season something which isn’t lost on Pedroia.
“We know we haven’t played well early. We don’t want the three teams in front of us to get too far away. We’ve just got to play better, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Pedroia said.
The panic button hasn’t exactly been pressed in Boston, not yet anyway, but after this weekend you might be seeing some very worried Red Sox fans.
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