Article author:
Reuters
It may be unlikely that the New York Yankees will be caught in the American League East, but the Boston Red Sox are back in a fierce playoff battle thanks to their recent hot streak.
Boston has won 16 of the last 20 times in a row for a three-game series against host Cleveland Guardians starting Friday night.
"I've been saying this all the time: we put ourselves in a deep hole (at the beginning of the season)," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Now we are in a better position."
The same is true for the Guardian who made 7-2 on a just completed trip with the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins. .. Cleveland is 17-5 runs.
Not only did the Red Sox have their customary skills in the batter's box, but their starting pitchers were also great.
Boston is three of the top five AL players in batting average, Xander Bogaerts (.335), Rafael Devers (.328), J.D. Head to the weekend series with Martinez (.326).
Not to mention the second baseman Trevor Story, which has 11 home runs and the team's highest 48 RBIs.
"We want him to control the (batter) zone and keep the pitch in the center right," Cola said.
Boston leads AL with a batting average of .258.
The Red Sox have hit 15 home runs in the last 12 games. They finished 7-2 on a freshly completed homestand, including a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, who won 6-2 on Wednesday.
Boston's right-handed Nick Pivetta (7-5, 3.31 ERA) will start in the opening round against Cleveland. This is his first career appearance against the Guardians. He defeated Auckland A on June 14th and St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in a row, allowing a total of two runs in 15 innings during these outings.
Right-handed Calcantril (4-4, 3.77) will be pitched to Cleveland on Friday. He was 0-1 and recorded 4.15 ERA in two starts against Boston last year.
Quantril defeated host Los Angeles Dodgers three times in a row before enduring the worst outing of the season on Saturday, giving up five runs with five innings and ten hits with a seven-to-one defeat. Did.
On Thursday, Cleveland tried to wipe out the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis for the first time since June 2017, but the Guardians lost 1-0.
"We've had a close match with everyone," said Terry Francona, Cleveland's manager. "(Minnesota) We are tougher than anyone else. They are a good team."
And so is the Red Sox.
After a three-game series with Boston, the Guardians will remain home for a five-game series with Minnesota and a three-game set with the Yankees. This is their longest home stand of the season and one of the toughest.
Guardians are excited about how to play in June. This month it's 15-5, averaging 4.6 runs. They have 3.28 staff ERA and have won four one-run games.
– Field-level media