In a flash, the momentum is with the New York Yankees after stealing Game 2 of the ALDS from the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park on Saturday night.
With the best-of-five series tied 1-1, Game 3 makes its way to what will be a raucous Yankee Stadium on Monday night as New York now has home-field advantage with the next two games being played in the Bronx.
Luis Severino gets the start for the Yankees, his first since a redeeming performance in the American League Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics last week.
After struggling mightily during the second half of the season that saw an ERA over 14 games skyrocket to 5.67, Severino was still given the ball in the one-game playoff. He went four innings without giving up a hit and striking out seven before being pulled in the fifth after allowing two quick singles.
However, his control was off as he allowed four walks on the night. In five starts against the Red Sox this season, he has a 3.65 ERA but he’s been brilliant against them at home, which is good news for the Yankees.
Over the three starts he’s had against Boston in 2018, he has a 1.41 ERA as he’s allowed just three runs on 14 hits in 19.2 innings of work.
There is plenty of concern for the visiting Red Sox, whose 108-win season could be in real trouble should they drop Game 3 against the Yankees. While Rick Porcello was slated to start Game 3, the Red Sox on Sunday swapped him with Nathan Eovaldi instead.
While Porcello showed glimpses of returning to his 2016 Cy Young form with 17 wins this year, his recent postseason performances provided reasons to worry for Sox Nation. In his first two playoffs with the Red Sox, Porcello has a 7.68 ERA.
His last postseason start came during last season’s ALDS against the Houston Astros, where he lasted just three innings in Game 4, allowing two runs on five hits as Boston’s season came to an end.
Since being traded to Boston from the Tampa Bay Rays, Eovaldi hasn’t allowed an earned run in 16 innings against the Yankees while giving up just six hits. On Monday night, he’ll be facing a Yankees offense that sees two of its biggest names, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, hot at the same time. That’s the first time that can truly be said all season.
Judge has hit three home runs in as many playoff games this postseason, a two-run shot in the first inning of the Wild Card Game against Oakland preceding a pair of solo shots in each of the first two games of the ALDS.
Sanchez sprang to life in Game 2 on Saturday night, launching a pair of home runs, including a 479-foot, three-run bomb that put the game out of reach. It was a much-needed display of offensive prowess from the catcher, who became the proverbial whipping boy of Yankees fans after batting just .186 during the regular season.
Here is how you can catch Game 3 on Monday night:
Yankees vs. Red Sox ALDS Game 3 viewing information
Date: Monday, Oct. 8
Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
TV: TBS
