The Boston Red Sox have essentially given up on the 2014 season which makes this matchup against the New York Yankees slightly less eventful. However, a Boston-New York rivalry is still exciting and still brings the drama despite the Red Sox setting their focus to 2015. After giving away key players during the trade deadline, the Red Sox have a roster that is no longer built to compete, but will give the team leverage for the next few years.
Boston looked to be turning things around after the All-Star break when they won four straight to start the second half of the season. However, they followed that up by losing eight of nine and have not bounced back. So instead, they dealt Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy, Stephen Drew, Chris Capuano and Felix Doubront. They did acquire Yoenis Cespedes and Allen Craig, so that is something. They acquired Kelly Johnson in the deal for Drew as both players face off against the former teams.
The Yankees are still focused on getting to the postseason even if the Red Sox are not. New York dropped four of their last five games before beating the Texans Rangers. Their offense is struggling to score runs are their last 11 games were decided by one or two runs each. They acquired Drew, but he is uncertain to start against the Red Sox. He is battling .176 on the season. They also traded for Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Capuano will take the mound for New York. He is 1-1 on the season with a 4.30 ERA after being designated by the Red Sox and then signing a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. He had a solid debut giving up two runs over six innings against Toronto. The Red Sox will be starting Anthony Ranaudo who was called up from Triple-A. He went 12-4 with a 2.24 ERA in 21 starts.
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