The New York Yankees are hoping to eliminate the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series.
To end the best-of-three series early, the Yanks will have to hit well against Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray.
The good news for the Yanks is that some of their lineup has a positive history against Gray.
The bad news for the Yankees is that Gray had an 18-5 record this season with a 2.72 ERA. Even at 36 years old, he’s still one of the most effective pitchers in baseball.
Boston has to feel good about giving Gray the ball with their season on the line. It’s do-or-die for them.
The Yankees will have confidence, too, coming off a 9-0 win in Game 1.
This rivalry rarely disappoints, and it shouldn’t on Wednesday night, either.
Yankees vs. Sonny Gray
The Yankees’ current roster as a whole has faced Gray for 161 at bats.
In that sample size, they’ve got 37 hits — for a .230 average — with a .642 OPS.
So all told, it’s not a great look for the Yankees.
This is the hitter-by-hitter breakdown:
- Cody Bellinger: 3-for-15, 1 double, 4 Ks
- Jose Caballero: 3-for-9
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 3-for-13, 1 triple, 4 Ks
- Luis Garcia Jr.: 4-for-10, 1 double, 1 HR, 1 K
- Paul Goldschmidt: 1-for-26, 1 2B, 8 Ks
- Trent Grisham: 5-for-10, 1 double, 1 HR, 2 Ks
- Spencer Jones: 3-for-6, 1 double, 3 Ks
- Ryan McMahon: 1-for-11, 2 Ks
- Heliot Ramos: 1-for-10, 5 Ks
- Ben Rice: 3-for-7, 2 HRs, 1 K
- Amed Rosario: 7-for-24, 6 Ks
- Giancarlo Stanton: 2-for-5, 1 K
- Anthony Volpe: 1-for-8, 4 Ks
- Austin Wells: 0-for-7, 1 K
A couple things stand out.
First is that Goldschmidt line — he’s one of the best hitters in this era of baseball and somehow has just one hit in 26 at bats against Gray.
The lines of Grisham, Garcia, Rice and Rosario are all encouraging, though. It’ll be interesting to see how manager Aaron Boone might deploy them on Wednesday.
Sonny Gray Stats With Yankees
It’s worth noting that Gray also spent time pitching for the Yankees.
He was traded to the Yanks from the A’s midway through the 2017 season.
In the back half of the 2017 season while with the Yankees, Gray had a 3.72 ERA in 11 outings.
He then pitched 30 times for the Yanks in 2018 and had a 4.90 ERA.
There was concern that the small-statured Gray might not hold up over the long haul, and the Yankees didn’t keep him around any longer.
But then he went to the Reds, and the Twins, and the Cardinals, and now the Red Sox — and Gray is still going strong.
Even if the Yankees had kept Gray longer, he likely wouldn’t still be wearing the pinstripes by this stage. So he’s trying to hand New York a loss on Wednesday night that would send this one to Game 3.
Yankees vs. Sonny Gray: Batter-Pitcher Stats for Game 2