New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox, 8:08 PM – ESPN
Fenway Park – Boston, MA
RHP Gerrit Cole (16-8, 3.23) vs RHP Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75)
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox kick off playoff action as they match up in the American League Wild Card game at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.
Aaron Boone and the Yankees will send out their $324-million ace, Gerrit Cole, to make the start. The right-hander has a 16-8 record with a 3.23 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 243 strikeouts over 30 outings this season.
He struggled to the tune of a 5.13 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in six starts during the months of September and October. He has also pitched to a 4.91 ERA (11 ERA in 16 IP) and is 2-2 against the Red Sox this season. Cole does, however, have a 2.68 ERA over 13 career postseason starts.
Alex Cora and the Red Sox will counter with right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
The 31-year old is having a career year, having been named to his first career All-Star game. After making just nine starts last season, Eovaldi has made an American League-leading 32 starts this year.
He has pitched to a solid 3.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and has 195 strikeouts, and a league-leading 2.79 FIP. Eovaldi is 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA against the Yankees on the year, he’s allowed less than two runs in all but one of those outings.
In their most recent matchup, the Yankees swept the Red Sox in a three-game series at Fenway. The red-hot Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge led the way for the Bronx Bombers with some clutch monstrous home runs.
Stanton finished the season with 35 homers and a .870 OPS, and Judge posted 39 home runs and a .916 OPS. Infielder Gio Urshela is expected to be in the starting lineup after making a ridiculous catch on a pop-out and tumbling into the Tampa Bay Rays dugout on Sunday afternoon.
Outfielder JD Martinez was questionable heading into Tuesday’s game after leaving Sunday afternoon’s game with an ankle injury. He has officially been left off the Red Sox Wild Card roster, and will not be available tonight.
Third baseman Rafael Devers has been red-hot for the Sox of late and will have to continue to carry the load without Martinez. Over his final nine games of the season, Devers smacked four home runs and posted a 1.059 OPS. The 24-year old had 113 RBI and a career-high 38 home runs on the year.
Former Met Kevin Plawecki is behind the plate and batting seventh tonight for the Red Sox. The 30-year old put together a nice season in Boston, hitting .287 with a .349 on-base percentage over 64 games.
The Red Sox have won seven of the last eleven postseason match-ups between the two teams, and this is their first winner-takes-all game since 2004 when the Sox won the American League Pennant.
The action can be seen live on ESPN at 8:08 PM.
