GAME 21: YANKEES at RED SOX
Good afternoon. Here are the lineups:
RED SOX (9-11)
Sizemore RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Gomes LF
Pierzynski C
Bogaerts SS
Holt 3B
Bradley Jr. CF
Pitching: LHP Jon Lester (2-2, 2.17).
YANKEES (11-8)
Ellsbury CF
Jeter SS
Beltran DH
Soriano LF
Texeira 1B
McCann C
Solarte 3B
Suzuki RF
Roberts 2B
Pitching: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (2-0, 2.05).
Game time: 7:10 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN-Plus, MLB Network / WEEI, WFAN.
Red Sox vs. Tanaka: No history.
Yankees vs. Lester: Jeter 22-66, Teixeira 12-50, Roberts 16-48, Suzuki 17-51, Johnson 1-15, Soriano 5-16, Gardner 2-11, Beltran 2-8, McCann 2-4, Ellsbury 1-2, Murphy 0-2, Solarte 0-3.
Stat of the Day: The Sox are 2-5 in one-run games this season.
Welcome back: Jacoby Ellsbury will play his first game at Fenway Park as a member of the visiting team. He has hit .338/.395/.441 this season and remarkably is the only Yankees player to have played in all 19 games. Ellsbury is a .308/.359/.474 hitter in 349 career games at Fenway. In four games against the Red Sox earlier this season, Ellsbury was 5 of 14 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI. He also stole two bases in two attempts.
Welcome champs: The NCAA champion University of Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball teams will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Roxbury native Shabazz Napier, an All-America guard will throw out a first pitch along with women’s team standout Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. Connecticut governor Dannel P. Malloy also will attend.
Welcome to the rivalry: Tanaka signed a seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees in January. The Yankees also paid a $20 million posting fee to obtain his rights from the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League. Tanaka was 99-35 with a 2.30 ERA in seven seasons in Japan. The 25-year-old made his debut at the age of 18. Tanaka was 24-0, 1.27 last season. In starts against the Blue Jays, Orioles and Cubs, Tanaka allowed five earned runs over 22 innings while striking out 28 and walking only two.
If at first: The Red Sox are hitting .171 in the first inning with only two runs scored and one extra-base hit. The first hitter of the game is 2 for 17 for the Sox with two walks and a HBP. They have a .250 on-base percentage. Red Sox leadoff hitters are 16 of 84 (.190) with four extra-base hits and only nine runs scored. They have a .546 OPS.
Near-perfect pitchers: Red Sox relievers Chris Capuano (10.2 innings), Junichi Tazawa (10 innings), and Koji Uehara (7 innings) have yet to allow a run. The trip has given up 17 hits over 27.2 innings with three walks and 31 strikeouts.
Other notes: The Red Sox have won four of their last six games. … The Yankees have won six of their last eight but lost two of three. … Lester has pitched well in all four of his starts, giving up seven earned runs on 26 hits over 29 innings with four walks and 29 strikeouts. He beat the Yankees in the Bronx on April 11, allowing two runs over 6.2 innings. Lester is 12-5, 3.90 in 27 career starts against the Yankees. Lester has allowed four earned runs or less or in all 10 of his starts against the Yankees dating back to the beginning of 2012, going 4-2 with a 3.50 ERA in those games. … Pedroia is 9 of 25 (.360) with five doubles, two RBIs, six runs scored and six walks in sis games with an at-bat since getting a cortisone shot in his left wrist on April 14. … Holt is 6 of 14 with three runs scored and three RBIs in four games since being called up from Triple A Pawtucket. … Sizemore is 1 of 22 in his last six games.
Song of the Day: “Loyalty” by Birdman (featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga).