Previewing The Yankees And The Red Sox

Game 1

Getting the nod in the series opener against the Red Sox, is former Red Sox hurler Chris Capuano. He was a final roster casualty during spring training, and ended up in Colorado with the Rockies shortly there after. The Yankees acquired the veteran lefty for cold, hard cash. He made his Yankees debut against the Blue Jays on July 26th, and pitched better than expected. In 6 innings, he allowed 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in a game the Yankees ended up losing.

In his career against Boston, several Red Sox’ hitters have had success against Capuano, highlighted by Shane Victorino, who is a career .600 hitter, with a home run in 8 at-bats. Hopefully the revamped Red Sox offense doesn’t paddle Capuano around, as this newly assembled group has the capability to put up runs in bunches.

Opposing Capuano, will be Anthony Ranaudo. He is making his big league debut tonight. That could spell trouble for the Yankees, who have historically had issues with first-time-face hurlers. In 21 starts at Triple-A this season, Ranaudo is 12-4, with an ERA of 2.41. He was selected by the Red Sox with the 39th overall pick in the 2010 Draft, and now begins the unenviable mission of helping to replace both Jon Lester and John Lackey, both of whom were dealt at the trading deadline yesterday.