The most talked-about rivalry in baseball resumes Tuesday night when the Red Sox invade the Bronx for a three-game set against the Yankees.
Here are five storylines to watch at Yankee Stadium over the next couple days:
1. It matters.
Well, as much as any early May series can matter. Somehow, the Yankees have won 15 of their past 16 games and they’re still not in first place in their own division.
That’s how good this Red Sox team is in 2018. Boston has the best record in baseball, at 25-9. The Yankees are second, at 24-10. Those are the two best records in baseball, actually. Here’s the reality of the situation: one of those teams gets a ticket to the best-of-five ALDS in October, and the other one is going to be thrown into a one-game wild-card contest. Doesn’t matter if they both win more than 100 games, and nobody else in baseball gets to triple digits. If you don’t win your division, you don’t get a bye into the Division Series.
Of course, it’s possible to be in the wild-card game and still win the World Series. But wouldn’t you rather have to lose three times to be eliminated instead of just losing one game? And that’s why head-to-head is so very important, especially between these two very good teams this season. Boston took two of three in Fenway and has a one-game lead in the AL East at the moment. There are 16 more games in the rivalry this season, and all 16 are very damn important.
POWER RANKINGS: Red Sox and Yankees jockey for position in top three
2. No Sale.
That Yankees lineup isn’t scared of anyone, but you have to imagine they don’t hate the thought that Boston ace Chris Sale isn’t scheduled to pitch in this series at Yankee Stadium. The lanky lefty has been dominant in his career, especially since joining the Red Sox at the start of the 2017 season.
In five starts against the Yankees last year, Sale posted a 2.65 ERA and struck out 50 batters in 34 innings. Yes, it’s true that the Red Sox lost four of the five games he started against New York, but that wasn’t Sale’s fault. Boston scored a total of nine runs in those five games. In his lone start against the Yankees this year, Sale struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings of a Boston win.
Drew Pomeranz is throwing in the opener for Boston, followed by David Price and a revitalized Rick Porcello in the finale. The Yankees have ace Luis Severino lined up for Tuesday night’s opener, then Masahiro Tanaka in the second game and a revitalized CC Sabathia (1.39 ERA) in the third one.
MORE: Yankees have found ways to win during 16-2 stretch
3. Lingering resentment?
You remember what happened the last series these teams played: Tyler Austin slid hard into Brock Holt at second base with his feet up, driving his spikes into Holt’s legs. Joe Kelly drilled Austin with a fastball his next time at the plate. Mild chaos ensued, a brawl that ended with Kelly suspended six games and Austin four games.
Kelly expects to be booed heavily during the series. Knowing what type of person Kelly is, a reporter suggested he might actually enjoy that. “No comment — but most likely yeah,” Kelly said, as reported by the Boston Globe.
“I’m the complete opposite. If it gets loud, my psycho ass thinks they’re cheering for me. I’m mentally wrong. It’ll be fun.”
MORE: Relive the Yankees-Red Sox brawl
4. Great Gleyber!
The kid is only 21 years old, but it feels like Yankees fans have been trumpeting his saving-grace arrival in the bigs for a couple years now, doesn’t it? And whaddya know, Gleyber Torres has been everything those fans wanted in his first 15 games of the season. The Yankees called him up after 14 games with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, during which Torres produced a .347 average and 11 RBIs. In his first 15 games with the Yankees, Torres has a .327 average and 11 RBIs. Not too shabby.
He’s shown a flair for the dramatic, too. In the ninth inning Sunday against Cleveland, Torres ended the game with a three-run homer off Dan Otero. Nothing like a walk-off homer in just your 15th game in the major leagues, eh?
MORE: Yankees, Red Sox set to play overseas in 2019
5. Marvelous Mookie
Boston’s best player finished second in the AL MVP voting in 2016 and sixth in 2017, and he’s been even better so far in 2018. Much better, actually.
Betts leads the AL with his .355 average, 1.252 OPS, 13 homers, 36 runs scored, 224 OPS+, 90 total bases and — as a 5-9, 180-pound slugger — an .818 slugging percentage. Simply, he’s been pretty incredible, and any chance we get to watch Mookie is a good day. In the first matchup with the Yankees this year, Betts went 4 for 4 with five runs scored, four RBIs, a home run and two doubles. Let’s see what he can do in Yankee Stadium.
