Welcome to the stretch run of the 2014 Boston Red Sox, where the games don't count and the team's top starters have all been shipped off.
What would normally be a heated August series against the New York Yankees now seems pretty boring. The Red Sox are officially out of it and the Yankees are fighting an uphill battle in the AL East. Still, the regular season goes on. It's time to see if the Red Sox's new acquisitions will make a difference down the road.
The Boston Red Sox made very clear at the trade deadline that they intend to focus on 2015 and beyond.
The last-place Red Sox may debut newcomers Yoenis Cespedes and Allen Craig on tonight at home, where they'll face one former teammate in New York Yankees starter Chris Capuano and possibly another in shortstop Stephen Drew.
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Boston (48-60) won four straight after the All-Star break but has lost eight of nine, a slump that likely signals the end of its hopes of contending.
Those woes prompted a flurry of Red Sox deals before Thursday's deadline, with two major ones occurring that day with Oakland and St. Louis that brought Cespedes, Craig and pitcher Joe Kelly to the club. The Red Sox sent ace Jon Lester to the Athletics and right-hander John Lackey to the Cardinals to cap a week in which they also traded away two other starting pitchers in Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront.
Boston also sent Drew, batting .176, to New York on Thursday for fellow infielder Kelly Johnson in the teams' first trade since 1997.
It's uncertain if Drew will play tonight, but the Yankees (55-52) will have a New England native on the mound who began 2014 with Boston.
Capuano (1-1, 4.30 ERA), designated for assignment by the Red Sox on June 25, was signed to a minor-league deal by Colorado on July 4 before being dealt to New York 20 days later.
The left-hander turned in a strong debut for the Yankees, giving up two runs over six innings of a 6-4 loss to Toronto on Saturday. Capuano, who didn't get the decision, has never started at Fenway Park.
The Yankees made another deal Thursday, acquiring third baseman Martin Prado from Arizona.
New York has dropped four of five after Wednesday's 3-2 defeat in Texas capped a stretch of 13 straight days with a game. The Yankees' last 11 contests have been decided by one or two runs.
Brett Gardner went 8 for 14 with four solo homers in the three-game series in Arlington while Carlos Beltran was 6 for 13. Brian McCann figures to return to the lineup after he was rested Wednesday.
Boston will recall Anthony Ranaudo from Triple-A Pawtucket to start in his major league debut. The right-hander went 12-4 with a 2.24 ERA in 21 starts with Pawtucket.
Rookie starters are 5-5 with a 3.91 ERA against the Yankees this year.
New York has taken six of 10 matchups.
