Stroman, Yankees Will Take Sunday Night Baseball

Yankees vs. Red Sox, 7:00 ET

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers, dads, step-dads, and male role models out there. I don't know about you, but being a Dad has been the most rewarding experience of my life. I'm not going to get overly sappy here, but my oldest his heading off to college this year, and I already am having a hard time accepting/dealing with it. I've said it before, the sign of being a good parent is that your kids grow up and are not overly reliant on you. I still need my parents for things, don't get me wrong, but I'm a capable adult. If I have helped shape a good person and good member of society, I've done my part. I just hope he still needs me as much as I need him. You guys probably don't need me, but I hope I am a nice to have since you're reading this piece looking for insight on a game, not my thoughts on Father's Day. For tonight's play, we are going to lock in on Sunday Night Baseball as the Yankees take on the Red Sox.

This Yankees team feels different. When I was young, I always felt like the Yankees were predetermined to win. The franchise had the deepest pockets, a storied history, and consistently was named in a list of potential destinations for virtually every top name in baseball. It has been about 15 years since the Yankees hoisted their most recent World Series trophy, and even though most of the descriptions ring true that I wrote about, they haven't been able to complete the journey in these past few seasons. Last year you could attribute it to injury, and their pitching staff struggling. It seemed like virtually every player on the club had a down year as well. This season, they aren't all playing amazingly, but Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are, and that's making all the difference for the team. Soto leads the team with a .320 batting average, and Judge is raking in RBIs and mashing homers left and right. The bigger change for the club this season, aside from health, is that the pitching staff has been superb. I still maintain an underrated addition to the club was tonight's starter, Marcus Stroman. Stroman is off to a 6-2 record with a 2.82 ERA, good for top-15 in the league. He also has a 1.24 WHIP for the season, so he isn't allowing too many opportunities against him. He's had a couple of poor starts this year, but for the most part, he is going out and putting up a lot of zeros. He hasn't faced the Red Sox yet this season, but their hitters are just 6-for-45 against him with just two doubles. 

FT. MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 2: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox rounds the bases after hitting a double during the third inning of a Spring Training Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals on March 2, 2024 at jetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

If the Yankees are Goliath, the Red Sox probably are closer to David this season. While both have been juggernauts and not afraid to spend money to improve their clubs over the years, this year was expected to be a bit of a regression year for the Red Sox. So far, they actually seem like a fairly competent club, but they are also unlikely to get very far within the division as they are looking up at both the Orioles and the Yankees. Their offense has been surprisingly solid this entire year and has a .250 average at the moment. They aren't scoring runs at the same pace as the Yankees, but they also are taking advantage of opportunities. The pitching staff has been strong for them most of the season, though the ERA has increased lately. Currently, they are around a 3.40 ERA and have a 1.16 WHIP. What I like best about them is they aren't allowing many opponents to get on base via walks. For the year, they are at a 3:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks. Tonight's starter is Kutter Crawford. Crawford has put together a nice campaign for the year with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has stumbled a bit from his stellar start to the year, with four of his past six starts seeing him allow four or more earned runs. He has been strong against the Yankees in the past, allowing just six hits over 46 at-bats. 

This game should go to the Yankees. I think the value is there for us to play them through five with Marcus Stroman on the hill. Crawford started the season hot, but has come back down to earth and I think the Yankees will struggle a bit but find a way to be leading when Crawford exits the game. Let's just ignore the bullpens in this one and back Stroman and the Yankees. 

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