Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.38) gets the ball for Boston opposite Cam Schlittler (7-3, 1.89), which on paper looks like a mismatch and on the field probably won't be. Suarez punched out 10 Guardians in his last outing but got tagged for 4 earned in 5 innings, and Schlittler is coming off a clunker of his own — 4.1 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned in a loss to Cleveland on June 2. So the ERA gap is real, but both guys are showing up off their worst start of the year.
The bigger story is who isn't here. Aaron Judge is on the IL with a stress fracture in his right first rib, sidelined 4-to-6 weeks before re-evaluation, and the Yankees are 1-3 since he went down. Add Giancarlo Stanton (calf, not back before mid-June), Austin Wells (10-day IL), Jasson Dominguez still rehabbing, and the lineup the Sox are facing today is a shell of the one that was supposed to lap the AL East.
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILNick Sogard 3B — Sogard is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — Anthony (finger) felt discomfort while hitting off a tee Thursday and has been shut down from swinging, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJovani Moran RP — The Red Sox placed Moran on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Friday, with left elbow inflammation, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Whitlock RP — Whitlock (knee) will embark on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Saturday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval SP — Sandoval (biceps) walked one over 1.1 innings for Triple-A Worcester on Friday.
- 60-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) was diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain Tuesday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Story SS — Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will be sidelined 6-10 weeks, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayPayton Henry C — The Yankees signed Henry to a minor-league contract Monday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- Day-To-DayEric Reyzelman SP — no
- Day-To-DayTravis MacGregor SP — MacGregor underwent Tommy John surgery last September and will miss the entire 2019 season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Wells C — Wells is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Guardians.
- 10-Day-ILAaron Judge RF — The Yankees announced Thursday that Judge has a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side and will be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks before being re-evaluated, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJasson Dominguez LF — Dominguez (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Friday, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton DH — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Stanton (calf) will not be activated from the 10-day injured list during the team's June 8-14 road trip, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILAngel Chivilli RP — Chivilli (shoulder) has resumed throwing off a mound and is slated to throw live batting practice during the coming week, per MLB.com.
Boston has its own problems — Trevor Story is out 6-10 weeks after sports hernia surgery, Roman Anthony is shut down from swinging with a finger issue, and the rotation depth chart reads like a hospital ward (Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Sandoval, Oviedo all on the IL). But the Sox have won 6 of their last 7 in the Bronx and took Friday's opener 5-3 behind a lineup that doesn't need to be whole to beat a Judgeless Yankees.
Pinnacle has the Yankees at -165 with a total of 8.5, which feels like the market trusting Schlittler's body of work more than his last start. Fair enough — his 0.86 WHIP leads AL qualified starters and a single bad afternoon against Cleveland doesn't erase 12 starts of dominance. But if Suarez's strikeout stuff from the Cleveland start travels, and the Yankees keep running out a lineup missing 3 of their best 4 bats, the dog price is going to keep looking generous.
Saturday's rainout gets made up August 29 as part of a day-night doubleheader, so this series ends as a two-game set. Win it and Boston pulls within shouting distance of .500 against the team they're chasing. Lose it and the Yankees stop the slide and head into next week's road trip with at least one thing fixed.