After limping into the All-Star break with a 7-18 stretch, the Yankees are looking to recapture their early season magic and will be put to the test immediately with a four game series in Fenway Park starting tonight.
The All-Star break affects some teams differently than others (see last season’s San Francisco Giants), and hopefully the extra rest and time to re-focus will shake off the funk. So let’s get right to it.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Uh-oh. This just in:
Michael Pineda has a partial tear of his UCL. He is seeking a second opinion but the recommendation is to have Tommy John surgery.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 14, 2017
No announcement of who’ll be starting in Pineda’s place tonight (as of noon EST). Stay tuned. UPDATE: Jordon Montgomery will take the mound tonight.
Money Line : Red Sox -137, Yankees +127
Over/Under : 9
Line Moves : After Pineda’s scratch, late $$ coming in on Red Sox.
Tonight’s opposing starter, left-hander Drew Pomeranz has an nice arsenal with swing and miss stuff — which is a concern for the strike-out prone Yankees. He relies heavily on his four-seam fastball which tops out in the low 90s, and has a nasty knuckle-curve, mixed in with an occasional slider. So far in 2017, his home ERA is more than a full point higher than on the road (4.28 to 3.06), and lefties are hitting him at a much better clip than right-handed batters (.329 to .241), which belies his stats over the past three seasons.
With career stops in Colorado, Oakland and San Diego before Boston, there are only small samples of Yankees hitter vs pitcher data to go on. He did face the pinstripes at Fenway on June 6th, tossing a career-high 123 pitches, but only allowing 1 earned run — a dinger by Chris Carter. Here’s some food for thought for tonight’s picks:
- Didi Gregorious ($3,900) : Two things are attractive here. Didi is no slouch against lefties, and he loves hitting in Fenway. He has 6 hits in 11 career ABs versus Pomeranz, and a .344/.417/.901 slash in Fenway over 64 ABs.
- Jacoby Ellsbury ($3,900) : A very small sample, but Ells seems to see Pomeranz well. This is more of an intangible, but we’re still waiting for that monster game at Fenway since he’s donned the pinstripes.
- Aaron Judge ($5,600) : All Rise! You cannot NOT draft Aaron Judge. Even though he’s getting a ton walks lately, you’ll be alright. How many times have you missed finishing either in the money or fell short of a higher payoff bracket by 1 or 2 points? Not to mention the chance of him launching a few moon shots.
TRENDS
• Yankees are 2-4 in their last six games at Fenway.
• Yankees are 3-10 in their last 13 road games.
• Red Sox are 1-7 in their last 8 games against the Yankees.
• The Over/Under has gone UNDER in 5 of the last 7 Yankees-Red Sox meetings.
THE FINE PRINT : The fantasy lineup suggestions are purely speculation and should not be taken as gospel. Anything can and will happen in a baseball game, but this content is designed to provide a starting point for your lineup research. Best of luck, and let’s go Yankees!
