There’s no rain in tonight’s forecast, which means there will be baseball played in the Bronx. Rainouts like last night stink, but there were a couple positives from the postponement. One, no bullpen game this weekend. Two, an extra opportunity for the Yankees to take on the Red Sox at full-strength (fingers crossed) later this year.
Now that the good news is out of the way, let’s get to the bad news: Boston has the advantage in tonight’s pitching matchup. The Yankees roughed up Chris Sale earlier this season, but that was a different guy. Since then, his velocity has ticked up and he’s pitched better. The Bombers will counter with another southpaw, JA Happ. Here are the lineups:
Red Sox
- Mookie Betts, RF
- Andrew Benintendi, LF
- JD Martinez, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Rafael Devers, 3B
- Steve Pearce, 1B
- Eduardo Núñez, 2B
- Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
- Sandy León, C
SP. LHP Chris Sale
Yankees
- DJ LeMahieu, 2B
- Luke Voit, 1B
- Aaron Hicks, CF
- Gary Sanchez, C
- Gleyber Torres, SS
- Kendrys Morales, DH
- Gio Urshela, 3B
- Cameron Maybin, RF
- Brett Gardner, LF
SP. LHP JA Happ
Clint Frazier is noticeably absent from tonight’s lineup. Meanwhile, Gardner is starting despite being toothless against lefties. The reason? Almost certainly defense. There have been no shortage of Frazier miscues in the outfield lately, and with a fly ball pitcher like Happ on the mound, perhaps there’s some sense to this.
Then again, Frazier could have been the DH instead of Morales. Ultimately, it looks like the decision came down to batter-vs.-pitcher history. For what it’s worth, Morales has a .268/.302/.561 line in 43 plate appearances vs. Sale, including three homers. Clint is one-for-six with a homer against him.
Notes: A few injury updates to pass along via Lindsey Adler: Aaron Judge has started hitting off a tee, Giancarlo Stanton is “probably close” to restarting his rehab assignment, and Dellin Betances will throw a bullpen on Sunday. Lastly, an update on Didi Gregorius’s rehab assignment:
Let’s recap the Didi rehab assignment with the RailRiders:
— Conor Foley (@RailRidersTT) May 31, 2019
Tuesday: Tornado warning, no game
Wednesday: Tornado watch, doubleheader gets in; one game with Didi
Thursday: Rain, no game
Friday: No power in stadium
Sheesh, no luck whatsoever. Steven will have more on this in tonight’s edition of Down on the Farm.
Enjoy the game, everyone.
RetroRob
Hi, Chip.
It wasn’t a blowout, but it was also a comfortable win once the bullpen came in, and my fantasy starter (Sale) didn’t absorb too much damage to impact my team. Best of all, Hicks and Devers are also on my fantasy team, so they contributed some RBIs. A win all around.
Chip
winner all around then Rob
Deltajoe15
Great day when the Sox an Rays both loose an Yankees win
Chip
So happy the Yankees gave Happ 3 years…
Mac
Don’t worry, it will probably end up being just 2.
$100 million cheaper than Corbin, that’s what mattered most.
In all seriousness, Happ slots in as an acceptable 4ish starter. He’s unexciting though if you want a top of the rotation starter instead. I certainly did.
Chip
I would have settled for 1 year of Morton..or even Gray…rather than give Happ a multiyear deal
RetroRob
I’m checking in on this thread after the game. Are people unhappy with Happ’s pitching tonight?
Chip
Happ’s pitching last night was fine. 1 night does not make a 3 year contract a good investment though.
BillyMartinVanBuren Boys
Happ isn’t exactly fooling anyone out there tonight is he?
Fatrexhadswag
Happ looks washed up, topping out at 91
BillyMartinVanBuren Boys
Keuchel now please
Fatrexhadswag
Gotta wait until next week
Fatrexhadswag
WordPress signs you out of comments once you post? Gotta fix that at least
RetroRob
How do you even sign into WordPress in the first place?
Chip
Tons of empty seats for Yankees vs. Boston on a gorgeous Friday night?
Nah, baseball doesn’t have a problem at all.
Fatrexhadswag
It’s hard getting to the stadium by 7, it’s a sell out
Fatrexhadswag
Not ideal! Sale didn’t throw one fastball that inning
RetroRob
Hoping for a 1-0 Yankee win, with the run being unearned. I have Sale on my fantasy team. Never mind. Yankees first. Blow the bastard out!
Chip
Hiya Rob.
Agreed, just light Sale up.
Val - Sonny Gray The Goat
Chip Still being negative and flip-flopping. Classic Chip. Slack is better off.
Chip
“Agreed, light Sale up” is negative? Is there a reason you feel the need to harass me?