(The current line for this game is Red Sox -125 **opening line was -150** & the total is set at 11)
The Red Sox defeated their heated rivals (Yankees) last night for the 6th straight time last night, behind another great performance out of Josh Beckett, & they got an HR out of struggling (DH) David Ortiz as well, just his 3rd of the season. Last nights win put Boston in a tie for 1st place with the Yanks. Tonight, Tim Wakefield takes the ball for Boston, & Chien-Ming Wang gets the start for the Yankees. Wang returned from a month on the disabled list with weakness in his hips and delivered three solid relief outings before giving up five runs in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-6 win over Texas on Thursday. Wang said he felt OK on Thursday and was excited to get back into the rotation. Manager Joe Girardi also had good things to say about Wang's return. "I thought he pitched better than his numbers indicated," Girardi said. "I'm not making excuses. I was happy with what I saw". Wang is 6-5 with a 4.82 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. The Yankees have won five of his last six starts in the series. Wakefield bounced back from one of his worst starts of the season by holding Detroit to three runs over 6 2-3 innings of a 6-3 road victory Thursday. Wakefield has had trouble vs the Yanks at Fenway recently, as he's 0-5 with a 7.56 ERA over his last seven home starts against the Yankees. For the season, Wakefield is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts at Fenway Park. Both teams have their BEST arms in the bullpen rested for tonight's game. For the Yankees, Hughes, Aceves, Coke & Rivera, ALL did NOT pitch in last nights game, and for the Red Sox, Masterson, Saito, Okajima & Papelbon, did not pitch last night. Just something to consider strongly if you are looking to make a play on the total for this game tonight. Here are the Red Sox career numbers vs Wang; Pedroia (5-16 .313 3 2B's) Drew (4-17 .235 HR) Youk (8-27 .296 3 2B's) Ortiz (16-36 .444 4 2B's, 2 HR's) Lowell (5-24 .208 2B) Green (2-8 .250 2B) Kotsay (2-6 .333) Bay has never faced Wang & Ellsbury is 1-4. As for the Yankees vs Wakefield; Jeter (31-99 .313 2 2B's, 3B, 3 HR's) Damon (19-60 .317 3 2B's, 3B, 4 HR's) Texiera (6-29 .207 HR) A-Rod (21-76 .276 2B, 7 HR's) Cano (12-37 .324 3 2B's, 3B, 3 HR's) Melky (5-11 .455 2 2B's) Swisher (1-6 .167 2B) Pasada (14-63 .222 4 2B's, 3 HR's) Gardner (1-5 .200) Matsui (8-47 .170 2B, 2 HR's) Angel Berroa (6-12 .500 2B, 3B). The Yankees team bullpen ERA on the road is 4.90 & they have aw WHIP of 1.291. However, the Yanks do have their BEST 4 guys rested and available for tonights game, like I stated above; (Hughes, Aceves, Coke & Rivera). The Red Sox have a team bullpen ERA at home of 2.60 & they have a WHIP of 1.155. Boston also has their best arms rested & available for tonights game; (Masterson, Saito, Okajima & Papelbon). New York is 14-9 following a loss this season, & they are 2-4 as a dog of +100 to +125 this season. Boston is 19-14 following a win this season, & they are 9-4 as a home favorite of -125 to -150 this season.
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