The Red Sox open the playoffs Friday at Fenway Park against the New York Yankees in the best-of-five game American League Division Series.
This year, Boston set a franchise record for wins in a season with 108, but New York managed to win 100 of their own. And the head-to-head series between the two teams was nearly even.
Christopher Smith covers the Red Sox for MassLive, and said this is a tough draw for the Sox. But there are some pitching match-ups that could work in their favor.
Christopher Smith, MassLive: Except for David Price, Red Sox pitchers have pitched well against [the Yankees] historically. Eduardo Rodriguez hasn't pitched well against them this year. But he's pitched well against them throughout his career.
Nathan Eovaldi has thrown -- heading into his last start against the Yankees -- 14 scoreless innings against them as a Red Sox this year. And Rick Porcello has been very good against the Yankees, you know, his entire time with the Red Sox. He pitches well on the road. He's pitched better on the road than at Fenway.
While the Red Sox starting pitching is a question mark -- with David Price never having won a postseason start, and Chris Sale's health a big issue -- you also can look at some of the positives: that some of their pitchers have pitched very well against the Yankees.
Adam Frenier, NEPR: I was going to ask you about Chris Sale. He was, of course, hurt for much of the second half of the year, and he's been shaky since he's returned. How worried should Sox fans be about his condition?
Every start he had, when he came back off the DL in September, his velocity dropped to his lowest velocity of his career in a start.
In his last start against Baltimore, not only was it that, he wasn't commanding the baseball. He hit two batters. He wasn't painting the corners like we saw Chris Sale in July when he's throwing all these shutout innings.
So, there's concerns, I think, over his health. Alex Cora says he's 100 percent certain that he's healthy, but I think that's a big question mark right now if he really is healthy, especially with the drop in velocity. You just don't see that unless a player is hurt.
If there's an Achilles heel for Boston this season, it was the bullpen, which had its share of struggles. How do you see manager Alex Cora trying to use his relievers?
He could get creative with the bullpen. He doesn't have to just go to the guys that haven't performed during the regular season. He's got Eduardo Rodriguez out there. He's got Eovaldi on days that Eovaldi doesn't start.
I think he needs to use Kimbrel for more than three hours in a game, which we haven't seen all season, but it's got to happen.
This is the matchup of rookie managers, Cora for Boston and Aaron Boone for the Yankees. How much of a factor will their inexperience be?
Cora has obviously more experience, because he went through 11 wins in a postseason last year, with the Astros. And you know, I think that definitely helps.
It's funny, because I asked him earlier in the year if he thought anything was more difficult than he expected as a manager. He said that postseason run completely prepared him for being a manager. And I think that will help.
I look at more of it as a factor for Aaron Boone.
And finally, for the Red Sox to advance to the American League Championship Series, what are a few keys for them to get by the Yankees?
Keep them in the ballpark with home runs. The Yankees hit the most home runs in a season ever, for any major league team.
Take advantage of the Yankees miscues. The Yankees have really bad infield defense.
I think another thing is that Red Sox need to score early. The Red Sox have that offense, that they can do that, and put pressure on the Yankees immediately, put pressure on the Yankees' starting pitchers immediately, and get guys like David Price and Chris Sale who haven't won a postseason game and early lead.
