Walker Buehler is new to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but not to breaking Yankees fans' hearts
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Consider it another layer of intrigue — of fun — as another round of the rivalry kicks off.
'If you look at the rivalry here [in Boston] and what happened last year [in the World Series] and all that stuff, I don't think we as a team or me specifically will get the warmest reception,' Buehler said. 'These kinds of rivalry games are why we all play. It's some of the most fun games we'll play all year. This will be my first regular-season start there in my career, so I'm pretty excited about it. Hopefully it goes well.'
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The final moments of the Yankees' season came against Buehler on Oct. 30. He was the last pitcher available for Dodgers manager
Dave Roberts
, taking the ball in the ninth inning on one day of rest.
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Minutes later, the season ended with
Alex Verdugo
flailing at a knuckle-curveball.
'I remember being absolutely petrified until it was over,' said Buehler, who hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since 2018. 'It was a one-run game, the short porch, two lefties. There is a lot going on there. It was as much fun as you can have in this game.'
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This version of the Yankees is a tad different. Closer
Luke Weaver
is on the injured list with a hamstring strain, affording offseason acquisition
Devin Williams
a chance to reclaim the job.
Juan Soto
is gone, but newcomer
Paul Goldschmidt
plus role-playing holdovers
Trent Grisham
and
Ben Rice
are having great seasons.
Carlos Rodon
, who will take a 2.49 ERA into his start Sunday, has been a strong No. 2 behind
Max Fried
, an early AL Cy Young Award candidate.
And most notably,
Aaron Judge
— who batted .184 in the playoffs — is back to being about the best hitter in the world. Entering Thursday,, he led the majors in average (.389), on-base percentage (.485), and slugging percentage (.752).
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'This isn't the first time,' Buehler said. 'Whether he's hitting .270 or .380, he's still one of the best players in the world. That's known. This year is not unexpected.'
Manager
Alex Cora
said: 'Not surprised about the way they're playing. I'm not surprised at all. They're been doing that consistently for a lot of years. Their best player is playing unbelievable, the numbers he's been putting up.'
Pitching plans
Following an offday Thursday, the Red Sox are keeping will keep their rotation in order. The expected weekend pitching matchups are: Friday: RHP Buehler vs. RHP
Will Warren
, Saturday: LHP
Garrett Crochet
vs. LHP
Ryan Yarbrough
, and Sunday: RHP
Hunter Dobbins
vs. LHP Rodon.
The Sox won't see Fried, who pitched Thursday, or
Gerrit Cole
, who is out for the season after Tommy John surgery.
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'One thing they do, they pitch. They've been pitching for a while,' Cora said. 'Even with injuries, they have capable guys, and the guys they have are performing. When you do that consistently, you win consistently at this level.'
Breslow weighs in
Chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow
reiterated his support for Cora in an interview on WEEI, saying he's confident Cora is capable of turning the season around.
Asked, however, whether a managerial change is possible if that doesn't happen, Breslow did not say no.
'We're always going to be anchored to what is best for the team and we have a lot of confidence in Alex as the leader of this group,' Breslow said. 'He's won in Boston as a player; he's won in Boston as a manager. We have conversations daily about everything we can do to get us back on track. That's where our focus is and that's where it will remain.'
Does it frustrate Breslow that
Rafael Devers
isn't willing to play first base?
'I think it's best to keep that opinion to myself and conversations between Raffy and me or Raffy and the team,' he said. 'Raffy is finding a way to contribute to this team. He's doing it by hitting in the middle of the order.'
Sabol to Worcester
The Red Sox outrighted catcher
Blake Sabol
to Triple A Worcester. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Sunday … Two farmhands earned player of the month honors: shortstop prospect
Franklin Arias
in the High A South Atlantic League and
Blaze Jordan
in the Double A Eastern League. Arias hit .404 with 12 extra-base hits (nine doubles). Jordan slashed .390/.490/.671 prior to his promotion to Worcester … NESN is adding 'Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal' to its programming, with an episode set to air at 5 p.m. Friday (available on the network's streaming platforms). The show, co-hosted by NESN's
Alanna Rizzo
, is produced by Make Plays Media and Foul Territory, a daily streaming baseball show … Cora, a proud Puerto Rican, mentioned Wednesday that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is in Manhattan on Sunday, hours before the series finale in the Bronx. 'It's a big weekend for us Puerto Ricans over there,' he said.
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