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| Luis Severino and the New York Yankees face the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Pool Photo by Eric Christian Smith/UPI | License Photo |
By Larry Fleisher, The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK
When the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox get together for their next series, both teams could feature somewhat different rosters.
After Sunday's finale of the three-game series at Yankee Stadium, the longtime rivals will not meet again until Aug. 2 at Fenway Park -- two days after the non-waiver trade deadline.
Both teams will play 25 games before the next installment of the rivalry.
The teams head into the ninth meeting with four wins apiece after Chris Sale fanned 11 in seven one-hit innings in an 11-0 rout Saturday. Rafael Devers hit a grand slam among a career-high five hits while J.D. Martinez drove in three runs as the Red Sox rebounded from opening the series with an 8-1 loss Friday.
Devers has 14 RBIs in his last 12 games while Martinez is hitting .432 with 12 of his major league-leading 67 RBIs in his last nine games.
The Yankees will be looking to rebound from getting shut out for the fourth time this season and third time since June 23.
Off the field, trade talks were a popular topic as both Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski addressed it.
The Yankees are in the market for a starting pitcher to bolster the back end of their rotation anchored by Sunday's starting pitcher Luis Severino (12-2, 2.10 ERA).
With the crosstown New York Mets falling to one of the worst records in the National League, talk of a possible deal for Jacob deGrom is circulating, though Toronto's J.A. Happ or Texas Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels could be more realistic.
"If the best business decisions happened to be with a rival, that's not a problem for me," said Cashman on Friday, while noting he has been in touch with Omar Minaya, one of three men holding the Mets GM role in Sandy Alderson's leave of absence. "As far as I'm concerned it match just makes sense, I don't care who (it's) with.
As for the Red Sox, they already filled a need by adding a right-handed hitting first baseman in Steve Pearce. Pearce was obtained Thursday night from the Toronto Blue Jays but Dombrowski said Saturday the deal could have been completed earlier and any changes would not be overly significant.
"People are calling, and you just kind of check in and make sure they know what's taking place and vice versa," Dombrowski said Saturday afternoon. "The one thing with us is, we're going to try to be the best club we can, regardless of what the Yankees do. And we all know that they have a really good team."
Neither team is motivated to get something done now and both executives will watch Severino face David Price (9-5, 3.66) in a matchup of pitchers who are rolling of late.
Severino can become the first 13-game winner in the majors after he allowed six hits in seven scoreless innings Tuesday in Philadelphia.
"There's no question that he's our ace, and we know that when he gets the ball, he has a chance to dominate and we have a good chance to get it done that day," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday.
Severino also is 7-0 with a 1.83 ERA in nine home starts this season. He also is 10-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his last 13 regular season home starts, the longest streak at home since David Cone went 16 starts without a home loss from Aug. 17, 1997, to Aug. 27, 1998.
Severino's home unbeaten streak matches Seattle's Wade LeBlanc for the longest active streak in the majors.
The right-hander has turned in 14 straight starts without allowing more than three runs. It is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by a Yankee starting pitcher since Rudy May from Aug. 2, 1980-April 20, 1981.
Besides racking up wins, Severino also is maintaining velocity, especially late in outings. His 98th pitch Tuesday was tracked at 100.1 mph, was among 12 at least 100 mph and his 44 pitches tracked at 100 leads all starting pitchers.
Severino's last home loss was to the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 3. He is 2-5 with a 4.61 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts) against Boston.
Price is 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA in his last nine starts and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each outing. He last pitched Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels and recorded his ninth win by allowing one run and five hits in six innings.
Things are going so well that he ended his press conference following his last outing by making fun of his carpal tunnel syndrome that some speculated was due to playing the video game Fortnite and kept him out of a game in New York in May.
"I don't think I'll be able to go, so I don't think so," Price said before adding "Yeah, Fortnite."
Price is attempting to reach double-digits in wins before the All-Star break for the first time since 2012 with Tampa Bay and third time overall.
The left-hander is 15-12 with a 4.67 ERA in 39 appearances (38 starts) against the Yankees. At the current Yankee Stadium, he is 8-6 with a 4.27 ERA in 19 starts.
Since joining the Red Sox in 2016, he is 2-4 with a 7.42 ERA in eight starts against the Yankees.
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