Red Sox-Yankees What To Watch For: Streaking Bogaerts And Papi Vs. Farrell
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's only early July, but Fenway Park will have a playoff feel this weekend when the Yankees come to town for a three-game set against the Yankees.
That may be overstating things a bit, considering teams haven't even hit the All-Star break yet, but the Red Sox are surging, winners of 13 of their last 19 games. In the process, they've turned a 10-game deficit in the AL East into just a five-game gap.
While the Sox are still in last place, that proximity to the top of the division has at least some fans feeling hope for the first time all season.
So with the most meaningful Red Sox-Yankees series of the past few years on deck, here are a few things to watch for at Fenway Park this weekend.
Sweep City
As promising as the idea of a three-game series against the first-place team might be, the reality is that short of a Red Sox sweep, there won't be much change in the standings. If the Sox take two of three, they'll gain one game in the standings on the Yankees, but depending on what goes on with the Orioles, Blue Jays and Rays, the Sox could take two of three and still find themselves five games back from first place.
And of course, while optimistic Red Sox fans might be wide-eyed with hopes of gaining three games on the Yankees with a sweep, the opposite scenario could play out and really wreck the Red Sox' season. Bostonians need not be reminded of the infamous five-game Yankees sweep at Fenway Park back in August of 2006. That was a series that dropped the Red Sox from two games out of first place all the way down to 6.5 games out, and it completely took the wind out of the sails of that year's team. If the Yankees are able to take all three this weekend, they could stifle any and all positivity surrounding the Red Sox entering the All-Star break.
Let's Go Streaking
All-Star snub Xander Bogaerts has a hit in every game in July, a seven-game streak in which he's hitting .433 with 10 singles and three doubles, driving in eight runs, walking twice, scoring five times and providing the winning hit in Tuesday night's win over Miami. He may have been left off the All-Star roster, but he's been one of baseball's hottest players in July.
Brock Holt, the Sox' lone All-Star representative, is riding an eight-game hitting streak of his own, a stretch in which he's hitting .314 though with zero extra-base hits.
We're The Aces ... No, Really!
Back in spring training, manager John Farrell proclaimed that his ace-less pitching staff had "five aces." The members of the rotation took that concept and ran with it, printing out T-shirts that said, "He's the ace," and with each starter claiming to be the ace after each start. It was cute ... and then the season began. Now, Joe Kelly is in Triple-A, Justin Masterson is in the bullpen, and Rick Porcello's ERA is up in space.
But this weekend, the Sox will send to the hill Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Wade Miley.
Buchholz has pitched extremely well since mid-May, posting a 1.99 ERA in his last 10 starts. While everyone in Boston is seemingly waiting for a bizarre injury to sideline his summer, he's just been consistently getting outs for the Red Sox.
The 22-year-old Rodriguez might have saved the Red Sox' season, as he came up from Triple-A when the rotation was in complete shambles. He posted some historic numbers in his first few starts, and though he's come back to earth, his numbers are still solid: 4-2, 3.69 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 15 walks.
And Miley's been better than his reputation might suggest. His 4.50 ERA tells you that he's hardly an ace, but in his last 11 starts, he's allowed five earned runs twice, four earned runs once, three earned runs once, two earned runs four times, one earned run once, and zero earned runs twice. Add it all up, and that's a 3.48 ERA over the past two months. Not great ... but really, not bad.
If the Sox were ever to sweep a series, it'd likely be with this trio getting the starts.
Papi Vs. Farrell
A certain challenge has arisen for manager John Farrell this year: His first baseman cannot hit.
With Mike Napoli hitting just .192 on the season, Farrell has had to resort to some unorthodox solutions. Most recently, he's inserted David Ortiz at first base, made Hanley Ramirez the designated hitter and placed Alejandro De Aza in left field. This move has resulted in the Red Sox being able to field their best lineup. De Aza is hitting .306 with a .940 OPS for the Red Sox, Ortiz has clubbed 15 homers on the year, Ramirez leads the team in homers, RBIs and OPS.
But even though Ortiz is deceptively decent in the field, it's something he announced he does not plan on doing anymore.
Ortiz told reporters after Wednesday's win that he's too old to play in the field and that he and Farrell will have to have a conversation about being deployed at first base in the future.
It's a tricky situation for Farrell, as an unhappy David can often lead to more trouble than its worth. At the same time, Farrell will want to convince Ortiz to play first base at least once this weekend, knowing that a four-day rest starts Monday.
We'll likely see who wins this debate on Sunday morning when Farrell releases his lineup. Will David suck it up for one more day for the good of the team?
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
