Now that the pressure is off, and expectations for success are no longer in place, look for the Yankees to light up the scoreboard in Fenway Park today. Just because. Yes, there is a mild coincidence that Boston lefty David Price is on the mound, but still. So today is the day to finally draw up a few Draft Kings lineups stacked with New York Yankees.
It’s Ovah
You can tell yourself there are a lot of games left and anything can happen, but your 2018 Yankees are adrift at sea, without a captain (literally) or a compass.
They’ve reduced themselves to a position of having to fight off the fearless young Oakland A’s for the top Wild Card slot. The really bad news is the Yanks have 3 games left against the Athletics — in Oakland — where they haven’t won since 1981 or something like that.
So if I hear “Hey, this a very successful season, look at the 68-41 record” once more, I’ll be at Costco later today replacing my television set.
David Price vs The Yankees
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Price ($13,000) actually has a winning record against the Yankees (15-13, 4.90 ERA), but the meat of that came early in his career as part of a very good young Tampa pitching staff. Over his 10 year career, he has enjoyed overall success in Fenway Park, going 22-7 over 41 starts with a 3.16 ERA.
But since joining the Red Sox, Price has been destroyed by New York hitters. Over 9 starts, he has a 2-6 record (8.43 ERA) while allowing 13 home runs in 47 innings. It gets worse at Yankee Stadium. There, over 5 starts, Price is 0-5 (10.44 ERA) allowing 10 home runs in 25 innings.
So Who Do I Stack Against Price?
Take your pick. Everyone is due to bust out, so let’s start with the usual suspects against Price. Didi Gregorius ($8,300) (13-30, .433 with 3 doubles and 1 home run), Giancarlo Stanton ($9,200) (5-13, with a double and triple), and Aaron Hicks ($9,400) (7-27, .259 but with 2 doubles and 2 home runs) are place to start. Remember, tonight’s game is available on Draft Kings in Showdown mode only.
Masahiro Tanaka vs The Red Sox
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Just because the Yankees are expected to tee off on David Price, that doesn’t mean Tanaka ($14,300) is off the hook tonight. While he has a 2-0 record in two starts against Boston this season, his ERA is 8.71, allowing 10 earned runs and 15 hits over 10.1 innings. Who gives Tanaka fits? Start with Andrew Benintendi ($9,900) (5-18, .278 with 2 home runs), J.D. Martinez ($10,200) (7-14, .533 with 2 home runs), and Yankee-killer Steve Pearce ($7,700) (5-15, .333 with 2 home runs).
The Bottom Line
The way things are going for the Yankees, Price will probably toss a gem tonight. Even if he doesn’t and New York takes it to him once again, they will remain a bloodied and bowed team in need of something I’m not sure they even know. The fall from grace this season has been staggering and it’s not clear they’ve hit bottom yet. All one needs to know about the final character of this club will be revealed between now and Labor Day weekend. Will they enter September with a shot at the division, or even the top Wild Card slot? Or will they find themselves in the middle of a feeding frenzy for the second Wild Card slot? We shall see, won’t we.
Kudos to Chance Adams. He did above and beyond the call of duty for New York and should be rewarded as such.
Remember this is for speculation only, not meant to be taken as gospel. And don’t forget to double-check your lineup(s) just prior to game time as the weather may create havoc for you. We exist under the manta that “You can’t predict baseball” but it’s fun trying. Good luck with your lineup and let’s go Yankees!
