The Boston Red Sox face a tall task Monday night, as they’ll take on one of the most talented pitchers in baseball.
Boston is hoping to regain control of the American League Division Series but will have to do so in hostile territory against New York Yankees flamethrower Luis Severino.
Severino finished a relative “down year” with a 19-8 record, a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts. He was pretty darn good in the AL wild-card game, too, striking out seven over four scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics.
The Red Sox certainly have their work cut out for them, but there’s a silver lining: Boston has had plenty of success against Severino in his brief big league career.
In 13 career appearances (12 starts) against the Red Sox, Severino has an unsightly 4-6 record with a 4.00 ERA.
Here’s how some of the Red Sox’s hitters have fared against Severino.
Mookie Betts: .267 (8-for-30), four doubles, two RBIs
Andrew Benintendi: .407 (11-for-27) , three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 10 RBIs
J.D. Martinez: .412 (7-for-17), two doubles
Mitch Moreland: .350 (7-for-20), two doubles, four RBIs
Severino had varying levels of success against Boston this season, too. The good news for the Red Sox: They won two of their four games vs. Severino, knocking him around for nine runs over 10 2/3 innings. The bad news, however, is the young right-hander was much better at home, where he held the Sox to just two runs in 12 2/3 innings while striking out 17.
The Red Sox would be smart to work the count and take advantage when Severino gives them chances. He’s walked at last three batters in seven of 33 starts this season, including the wild-card game vs. Oakland.
Add it all up, and there should be opportunities for the Red Sox to generate some offense, which hasn’t been the case through the first two games (outside of the first inning of Game 1). They have to take advantage when that happens or they’ll be looking at the unenviable task of playing for their lives at Yankee Stadium in Game 4.
