After a successful series against the top team in the National League, the Boston Red Sox are gearing up to face their archrivals, the New York Yankees, in a crucial three-game series at Fenway Park starting this Friday.
Manager Alex Cora has set the lineup for the series opener, with Brayan Bello taking the mound for Boston while Luis Gil will pitch for New York.
Here’s how the Red Sox lineup stacks up:
- Jarren Duran – LF
- David Hamilton – SS
- Tyler O’Neill – RF
- Rafael Devers – 3B
- Masataka Yoshida – DH
- Connor Wong – C
- Enmanuel Valdez – 2B
- Dominic Smith – 1B
- Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
Bello hasn’t had the smoothest season for Boston, sporting a 4.78 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP across 11 starts. His recent outings have been challenging, having surrendered at least three runs in each of his last five starts. Facing the Yankees, Bello will need to navigate a lineup where several hitters have had success against him in the past:
- Oswaldo Cabrera (2-for-11)
- Aaron Judge (2-for-7 with two walks)
- DJ LeMahieu (2-for-6 with an RBI)
- Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-8 with a walk)
- Gleyber Torres (6-for-14 with an RBI and a walk)
- Jose Trevino (2-for-8 with three RBIs)
- Anthony Volpe (2-for-5)
On the other hand, Luis Gil has been a standout performer for the Yankees this season, boasting a stellar 2.04 ERA (fifth in MLB) and an impressive 0.93 WHIP (fourth), while striking out 90 batters (tied for 12th) in 13 starts. Despite a recent outing where he allowed three earned runs, Gil had not given up more than a single run in his previous seven starts. Only Jarren Duran has managed a hit against him, going 1-for-2 in his limited encounters.
With both teams vying for position in a tightly contested American League East division, the series promises to be a thrilling matchup with playoff implications. As the Red Sox look to capitalize on their recent momentum, they’ll need a strong performance from Bello and their lineup against the formidable challenge posed by Gil and the Yankees.
