Mark Teixeira seems to have shaken his April woes this season. Photo: Icon SMI
Seldom do I include a game between a pitcher with an 11+ ERA against a pitcher with a 22+ ERA but Phil Hughes and the Yankees help open the 100th season at Fenway against the Red Sox and John Lackey. The Red Sox come into their home opener 0-6, five games out in the division and four games behind the Yankees. New York has the rare opportunity to bury the Red Sox in April. Should the Yankees sweep, they would put their biggest rival for the AL East crown in an eight-game hole less than two weeks into the season. While there would be plenty of time to climb out of the hole, it would give the Yankees some breathing room to figure out their rotation while Boston became desperate for every win.
A sweep is not a given, of course. Outside of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees are not hitting that well. Their OBP is a low .317, but by leading the league in home runs, and hitting eight of 13 with men on base, they are scoring at a great 5.83 runs per game clip. That’s much better than the Red Sox abysmal offense of 2.67r runs per game on a .181/.269/.275 slash line. Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Varitek are the only batters with OBPs over .300. There’s a lot of offensive potential in these two teams, and given the pitchers and the ballpark, we might see quite a slugfest this afternoon.
Two of the hottest teams in the American League battle in Baltimore as Colby Lewis and the Rangers visit Zach Britton and the Orioles. Lewis pitched okay in his start against Boston, but he had a big lead and didn’t need to be perfect. Since returning to the majors last season, Lewis is showing much better control than earlier in his career, and his two walks in six innings continued that trend. Britton allowed just three hits and three walks, leading to one run in his major league debut.
NL East rivals Philadephia and Atlanta meet at Turner Field as Cliff Lee faces Tim Hudson. Lee showed he still owns great control as he struck out 11 while walking none in his first start. Hudson walked one and struck out five in his first start, but allowed two fewer runs as he kept the ball in the park.
Travis Wood leads the Reds into Arizona to take on Ian Kennedy and the Diamondbacks. Wood pitched well as a 23-year-old rookie in 2010, and his first start of the season looked like an improvement. He struck out seven and walked none in seven innings of work, allowing just one run. For his career, he holds a 3.6 K/BB. Kennedy assumed the mantle of ace for Arizona this season. He baffled lefties in his first start, but righties hit him for power.
Finally, rookie Kyle Drabek takes the Blue Jays into Anaheim to play the Angels and Ervin Santana. Kyle started the season with a seven inning one-hitter against the Twins, striking out seven along the way. Santana is 41-23 career at home, accounting for 57% of his victories.
Enjoy!