As the Yankees and Rays jockey for first place, the Red Sox remain in contention to make a late run, and all three teams have strong hurlers to thank.
The Sox have benefited from a surprising season from young righty Clay Buchholz. Paired with yet another solid campaign from southpaw Jon Lester, Boston's rotation has been able to keep the team within striking distance despite the abundance of injuries. Buchholz is 14-5 with an AL-best 2.36 ERA while Lester is 13-7 with a 2.80 ERA with 165 strikeouts, good for third-most in the AL.
The Yankees have also been pleasantly surprised this season with a young pitcher of their own in Phil Hughes, who is 15-5 with a 2.90 ERA. The 24-year-old righty won 10 of his first 11 decisions. Leading the Yankee staff is lefty CC Sabathia. In his second season in the Bronx, the lefty has an AL-most 16 wins to go with a 3.12 ERA. The big ace has lost just two games since May 23.
In Florida, the Rays have the second-lowest ERA (3.62) in the American League and have arguably the best young arm in the bigs in David Price, who has a 15-5 record and a 2.85 ERA in just his third major league season. The 25-year-old hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in his last five starts. Joining Price atop the Rays rotation is Matt Garza, who spun a no-hitter back on July 26. He's 12-7 with a 3.74 ERA.
What do you think the best 1-2 pitching punch in the AL East is? Text 'SOX1' to 542542 for Clay Buchholz/Jon Lester. Text 'SOX2' to 542542
for CC Sabathia/Phil Hughes. Text 'SOX3' to 542542 for David Price/Matt Garza.
