Three Big Weekend Series in the American League East
Things are tight once again in the AL East. The Boston Red Sox are setting the pace, but in striking distance are the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, who are both sporting hot streaks as we close in on the All-Star break.
Each of the AL East’s contenders has a tough series this weekend, and I have my predictions for each one below.
New York Yankees (45-33) v. Toronto Blue Jays (42-38)
Everyone in the AL East is chasing Boston right now, but the Yankees have a chance to put Toronto even further back in the pack as they host the Blue Jays this weekend.
This series actually sets up pretty well for the Blue Jays. Besides avoiding CC Sabathia and getting a favorable matchup on Saturday with Roy Halladay on the hill, today’s starter, Brian Tallet, has made a habit out of following bad starts with very good ones, and Tallet is coming off of a bad outing (8 hits, 5 runs, 6 walks in six innings against the Phillies last Sunday).
On Sunday, Scott Richmond will be on the mound for the Blue Jays, and though he had some wildness in his last start (three homers allowed, five walks vs. Tampa Bay on Tuesday) and was beaten up in his previous start against the Yankees this season, he’s pitched well away from home for the most part. And then, in Monday’s finale, the Blue Jays will be going with Ricky Romero, who is 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA in his last six starts.
Prediction: The Yankees are on a roll right now, and they’re playing the Blue Jays at home, but I like Toronto’s chances to earn a split here.
Boston Red Sox (48-30) v. Seattle Mariners (40-38)
Not exactly the easiest week for the Mariners, who are fresh of off dropping two of three to the Yankees and now make the trip to Boston to face the AL East-leading Red Sox.
The Angels and Rangers are leading the way in the AL West, but the Mariners are sitting in a pretty good position, just 3.5 back of the Angels, and after this series, they get to go home and face Baltimore and Texas before the All-Star break.
The Red Sox are coming off of a road trip in which they went 6-3, and the next week-plus before the All-Star break offers up the opportunity to stretch their lead in the East, with Seattle, Oakland, and Kansas City all coming to Fenway.
Prediction: I like Seattle’s chances to take the opener tonight, with Felix Hernandez going for the Mariners. Hernandez is 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA in nine starts on the road, and he had a stellar outing in his last start, which came on the road against the Dodgers (8 IP, 4 hits, no earned runs, 9 Ks). But I’m going to go with the Red Sox to take two of three and keep it going strong at the top.
Texas Rangers (42-35) v. Tampa Bay Rays (44-36)
Here come the Rays! The defending AL champs have won nine of their last 11, and after being 29-31 on June 9, the Rays have won 17 of their last 22 to get back into the thick of the AL East race.
While the Rays have been playing catch-up since pretty much the start of the season, the Rangers are just now trying to play catch-up, as they’ve lost the AL West lead to the Los Angeles Angels. They took advantage of the head-to-head this week, taking two of three at home against the Angels to pull within a half-game of the lead.
The key for the Rays in this series, and in the long run, is the pitching. Scott Kazmir is still just coming back from a month-long layoff, and David Price has been up and down this season.
All the same, the key for the Rangers also rests with the pitching, for me at least. Sunday’s matchup with Scott Feldman going for the Rangers and Jeff Niemann going for the Rays is pretty much a toss-up, but the Rays have the edge with Kazmir and Price going today and tomorrow and Tommy Hunter and Matthew Holland going for the Rangers.
Prediction: Tough to pick this one, because despite the Rays’ recent run, I do have questions about their talented, but sometimes shaky pitching staff. That being said, I’m going to go with the Rays to keep up the hot run and take two of three.
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