Bosox Board

The righty gave up two solo homers in the first inning of his last start
vs the Orioles, but settled down to have a quality start, allowing three
runs over six innings in a loss.  Porcello is 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA in five
career starts at Yankee Stadium.

Thanks to a renewed cutter that he busts inside on right-handers to
open up the outside part of the plate, Sabathia has won four straight
starts, limiting opponents to a 1.48 ERA over that span.  He will be facing
Boston for the first time this year.

With the Yankees back atop the American League East and the Red Sox just one game behind them, it's expected that one of the most heated rivalries in professional sports will be in full force to start the summer months.

The two teams are set to square off in the second contest of a three-game series Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium in a match between last season's AL Cy Young Award winner, Boston's Rick Porcello, and New York's veteran southpaw, CC Sabathia, who won the honor in 2007.

"I do. I think there is [extra buzz]," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the series before Boston won Tuesday's opener, 5-4. "The meaning of this series has a lot for the month of June in a sense because of how close we are [in the standings]."
The rivalry is now infused with exciting young players like Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi on Boston's side, and Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez for New York.

"These are teams that are now being impacted greatly by young players," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "We've gone through that a couple years ago as we transitioned. It's happened quickly here in New York, with the names we talked about earlier. There's a lot of rejuvenated attention given with the turnover and the rosters that are here now. Both teams are playing well."

The Yankees have seen a resurgent Sabathia this season, especially as of late. The left-hander (6-2) has won his last four starts, and has pitched to a 1.48 ERA with 26 strikeouts in that span of 24 1/3 innings.

"I've always felt that CC was the glue of the team," Girardi said. "I think his calmness when he's about to pitch in a big game, he's the same guy day in and day out. I think it means a whole lot to this team."

Porcello, who won 22 games last year, has struggled recently, as opponents have a .371/.402/.552 slash line over his last four outings.

"It comes down to consistent location of the sinker," said Farrell. "He's had some pitches where it's found its way back to the middle of the plate. While he's made big pitches in spots where he's had multiple men on, prior to that is where some of the damage has come in. That was the case with a couple of solo home runs. He's still doing a good job of managing potential damage, and yet the overall consistency is still being worked on."

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• Red Sox prospect Sam Travis will get his first taste of the rivalry when he starts at first base on Wednesday. Travis has been getting the nod against lefties. His first stint on the roster could be ending soon, with Dustin Pedroia coming off the disabled list on Friday.

• Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner heads into Wednesday's contest with a .342/.390/.500 career slash line against Porcello; Betts enters the game with a .455 (5-for-11) batting average against Sabathia.

• Sabathia's four-seam fastball has improved vastly in his most recent four starts, a span in which opponents are hitting .133 against with a .300 slugging percentage. In the previous four starts, opponents had a .429 average and a .714 slugging against the pitch.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170606234723692/porcello-faces-cc-as-sox-yanks-heats-up/?game_pk=490979