CC Sabathia Shutsdown Boston In Game One Of The Double Header

CC Sabathia was nothing short of fantastic Sunday afternoon in game one of the double header as he shut down  New York's rival Boston! 

Making his 18th career start on the road against the Red Sox, CC Sabathia came away with a scoreless line at Fenway Park for the first time. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

The veteran lefty held the Red Sox to two hits and worked around five walks over a solid, six-inning performance that led the Yankees to a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. Sabathia is 8-3 with a 3.54 ERA this season. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

Meanwhile, the Red Sox continued their perplexing trend of being unable to produce in key situations against the Yankees in 2017. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

In the eight rivalry games, Boston is 2-for-51 with runners in scoring position, including Sunday's 0-for-11 performance. The Yankees have taken six of the first eight games between the clubs, and they now trail the Red Sox by just 2 1/2 games in the American League East. "according to tohttp://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/ 

In a battle of former Cy Young Award winners, Sabathia got the best of this one. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

Red Sox righty Rick Porcello, who had a strong finish to a frustrating first half, turned in a quality start, giving up nine hits but just one earned run. An error by shortstop Xander Bogaerts on a grounder by Clint Frazier led to the Yankees scoring two unearned runs in the fourth, and Didi Gregorius took Porcello out to right for a solo homer in the fifth. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

Gregorius had the perfect placement on his solo shot to right in the fifth that padded New York's lead to 3-0. He lofted one down the line and curled it just inside Peksy's Pole, which is 302 feet from home plate. According to Statcast™, the homer had an exit velocity of 93.3-mph. It was No. 11 on the season for Gregorius and the final run allowed by Porcello. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

The bottom of the first inning was indicative of the way things have been going for the Red Sox the last couple of days. After Mookie Betts and Bogaerts led off with walks against Sabathia, the Red Sox didn't score. Andrew Benintendi hit into a fielder's-choice grounder, and Chris Young grounded into a 4-3 double play to end the inning. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242293802/cc-sabathia-leads-yanks-to-game-1-win-vs-sox/

New York improved to 47-42 and is third place in the American League East while Boston dropped to 51-41 on the season and is in first place.

New York and Boston will finish up their four -game series tonight at Fenway Park. 

Red Sox lefty David Price (4-2, 3.91 ERA) will be given the ball in the night game, scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Price found himself on somewhat of a roll before the All-Star break, allowing two earned runs over his last 15 innings while putting together four straight quality starts." according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242296670/yankees-outlast-red-sox-in-16-innings/

After a rocky first half, Masahiro Tanaka will look to rebound with a successful opening start to the second half. Tanaka put together a torrid streak of six straight losses before entering the break with two wins in three starts. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/242296670/yankees-outlast-red-sox-in-16-innings/

Will New York's offense be able to get runs off David Price and back up Masahiro Tanaka's start? Will Masahiro Tanaka have a great outing? Will he throw another shutout like he did on April 27th against Boston? Will David Price have a good game against New York?  Will New York win the series? 

First pitch is set for 8:05 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-red-sox/2017/07/16/491471#game_state=preview,lock_state=preview,game_tab=,game=491471