YGY Series Preview Show: Boston Red Sox (4/10-4/13)

Apr 8, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli (12) at bat in the eight inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Texas defeated the Red Sox 10-7. (Photo Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

The New York Yankees (4-5) were not able to take their first home series of the season against the Baltimore Orioles. While Masahiro Tanaka put up ten strikeouts in seven strong innings, Shawn Kelley gave up two runs in the ninth inning as Baltimore won 5-4. With David Robertson on the disabled list, the spotlight this weekend will be on who Joe Girardi goes to in the 9th inning if the Yankees have a lead. This is more for Thursday night due to the fact Girardi used Kelley for 30 pitches in Wednesday’s loss.

Now, the defending champion Boston Red Sox (4-5) come into the Bronx for a four-game series. These two rivals will play seven games in the first month of the season. It will be a good measuring stick for the Bronx Bombers to see if they have caught up to the champions.

The Red Sox have had injury issues of their own, as outfielder Shane Victorino and third baseman Will Middlebrooks are on the disabled list. With Victorino out, the Red Sox have been using Jonny Gomes in the leadoff spot, but don’t expect that for John Farrell‘s team much longer. Boston was able to get a big win on Wednesday afternoon on a three-run homer by David Ortiz in the bottom of the 8th inning. Despite the injuries, they are third in the MLB in batting average and are fourth in quality starts.

On this episode of the Yanks Go Yard Show, I recapped Wednesday night’s game, including Tanaka’s ten strikeout performance against the Orioles. Plus, Paul Prims from BoSox Injection and This Week In Red joined me to talk about the Red Sox injury concerns and when Jackie Bradley Jr. or Grady Sizemore could be moved up into the leadoff spot. You can catch my answers to Paul’s Yankee Questions over on their website. Here are the other topics we discussed on the show:

• Which injury is more concerning: Victorino or Middlebrooks?
• Could a Stephen Drew reunion be in the works?
• Clay Buchholz‘s rough first outing (faces Michael Pineda on Thursday)
• Pineda’s Excellent Command
• Boston Offense not helping Jon Lester (Friday’s starter vs. C.C. Sabathia)
• Sabathia’s Bad History with the Red Sox
• John Lackey‘s Yankee Stadium Woes (Saturday’s starter vs. Hiroki Kuroda)
• No more than 100 pitches for Kuroda
• Why Sunday night’s Felix Doubront–Ivan Nova matchup could be a high-scoring game
• Why Mike Napoli could have an excellent series this weekend
• Is it time to be concerned about Brian McCann‘s slow start

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE RED SOX-YANKEES SERIES PREVIEW SHOW!!!