The greatest rivalry in baseball kicks off an important three-game series in the Bronx with a pair of right-handed starters on the mound.
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Boston picked up a 6-2 victory in the final game of a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians and now will head off for a 10-day, 10-game road trip to New York, Toronto and Texas. We’re probably going on as it looks right now the most important road trip of the season, most important 10 games of the season,” said second baseman Bill Hall. The Red Sox are in third place in the AL East division and sit 5.5 games back of tonight’s opponent. In losing first baseman Kevin Youkilis for the year, the club will be leaning on All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre more than ever. He is hitting .336 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs. The Red Sox are 20-21 against the division this year (-570) and 106-86 versus the AL East over the last three years (+230). Boston brings a 3-1 record into this contest as a road underdog of +125 to +150 this season (+320).
Cincinnati has won six of its last eight games and moved its record to 10-1-1 in its last 12 series. The Reds will now face off with a team that they’ve beaten five of six times this year, outscoring the Cubs by a 49-13 margin. “Yeah, we’ve got to keep winning series and hopefully you throw a sweep or two in there somewhere,” manager Dusty Baker said. The club is just a game over .500 with a 19-18 record this season (-150) and the total is 11-21 O/U in those contests. Cincinnati is averaging 4.1 runs per game and hitting for a combined .259 average during the day, which is almost a full run lower (4.9) than its average for the year. Playing divisional opponents has provided a boost to the team’s record all season, coming into this three-game series with a 31-18 record against NL Central opponents (+1,340).
The Miami Dolphins will be looking to take the next step this season and become a playoff contender after suffering through a somewhat disappointing campaign a year ago. The Dolphins showed flashes of brilliance at times offensively with their Wildcat backfield of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams after QB Chad Pennington got hurt, but they struggled to figure out who they were as a team as the season wore on. When Brown also went down for the year with a foot injury, young QB Chad Henne stepped up and gave Miami fans a glimpse of his potential. Now with All-Pro WR Brandon Marshall in tow thanks to a trade with the Denver Broncos, Henne has the perfect weapon to take the team’s passing game to the next level. If the Dolphins can improve enough defensively – they ranked 26th in the NFL last season, giving up 24.4 points per game – Henne and the offense should be able to score enough points to make them a legitimate threat in the race for the AFC East division title.
Chicago picked up a 4-1 victory in yesterday’s contest over the Tigers, as the team has won eight of its last 10 games. The White Sox currently hold a 1.5-game lead over the Twins in the division and are eight games ahead of the Tigers. The club holds a 5-2 season series advantage over today’s opponent, outscoring them by a 43-21 margin. Offensively, the team is batting .300 and the pitching staff has recorded a 3.05 ERA against the Tigers this season. The White Sox are 9-1-1 in the last 11 season series versus their division rivals. Even more impressive, the South Siders are 31-19 in their last 50 games at Comerica Park. Chicago is 22-12 in day games this season, which is the fourth-best record in the league and the total is 18-16 O/U in those contests. The team is 18-21 against the AL Central division in 2010 (-7000 and 96-88 over the last three years (-80).
Minnesota captured a 2-1 victory in the third game of this four-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field, overcoming a blown save in the ninth from new closer Matt Capps. “An exciting baseball game,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Well pitched by both sides.” Catcher Joe Mauer was back in the lineup for a second straight day, after missing two games with a shoulder injury. The win last night snapped a four-game losing streak for the Twins against the Rays, which was their longest losing streak against Tampa Bay since August 2001. The club is 21-18 in day games this season (-50) and the total is 17-18 O/U in those contests. Minnesota has also played just three games this season in domes due to moving into Target Field from the Metrodome this year, posting a 1-2 mark in this series thus far (-40). The Twins are still a dismal 13-18 against AL East opponents.
