The slumping New York Yankees hope to avoid a fourth straight loss in Saturday’s clash at Fenway Park with the Boston Red Sox. It was more offensive silence from the Yankees on Friday night as they were held to only two runs by the division rival Red Sox. It has been a rough season for Boston, but they have consistently proven they’re capable of playing the AL East-leading Yankees tough. Frankie Montas is expected to start for the Yankees at pitcher opposite of Boston’s Kutter Crawford.
The Yankees scored two runs in the first three innings of Friday’s game against the Red Sox, and it was absolute silence at the plate the rest of the way. It was an eerie silence from a Yankees team averaging the most home runs per game and ranked second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers in average runs scored (5.28).
This isn’t Yankees baseball.
Things are starting to unravel at the seams for a team that has spent the majority of the season being perceived as the hottest in baseball. Injuries, attrition and just flat-out bad luck have all fallen on the Yankees in the second-half of the season. Someone has to join the Aaron Judge party, and they need to come quick.
Kutter Crawford pitched circles around them when they last faced him in early July. Now, they’ll get a rematch with Boston’s starting pitcher when they’re at t heir most vulnerable. It’s a tough matchup on paper, but the Yankees have to find a way to get something—going. They also have to count on Frankie Montas (3.59 ERA) avoiding a complete come apart on the mound.
The veteran righty got crushed in his debut with the Yankees last Sunday, when he yielded five hits and six earned runs in three innings to the St. Louis Cardinals. That won’t fly on Saturday if New York has any hopes of ending their three-game losing streak.