Red Sox's Four Young Starters Have Dominated Yankees In New Phase Of Rivalry

A new era of the historic rivalry may be ahead of us, and the Red Sox took an early lead

The Boston Red Sox managed to dominate a division rival two weekends in a row, largely due to their young pitching staff.

Red Sox pitching helped elevate the club to a 5-1 record against the New York Yankees this year, closing the gap to a two-game lead in the Yankees' favor for the American League East -- who sit at third in the division.

The Red Sox's five wins were propelled by our pitching staff, who managed to hold the Yankees to a measly 15 runs in the six-game stretch. 

Most of the success is owed to the Red Sox's young pitching core -- Bryan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck -- who have a combined career ERA of 1.98 against the Yankees, and average age of 26. 

The lowest career ERA against the Yankees in the grouping belongs to Red Sox young fireballer Bello who has an impressive 1.44 ERA, with a 21-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .198 batting average against, and a 1.08 WHIP in 25 innings pitched across four games. 

Whitlock has a 1.85 ERA, with a 32-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .171 batting average against, and a 0.78 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings pitched across 13 games. 

Kutter Crawford has a 2.08 ERA and a 14-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .234 batting average against, and a 1.31 WHIP in 13 innings across four games.

Lastly, Tanner Houck has posted a 2.39 ERA with a 33-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a  .189 batting average against, and a 1.17 WHIP in 37 2/3 innings across 11 games. 

The total ERA between the four pitchers combined comes to an aforementioned whopping 1.98 in 100 innings. 

These four hurlers appear to be the future of the Red Sox's rotation, and they've had the number of their biggest rival early on.

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