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BOSTON – It has been 67 days since the sunny day at Fenway Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox and Yankees locked in the corner for the last time.
Rafael Devers brought a home run and just cleared the Green Monster against Yankee Ace Max Fried. As Devers ran around the base, he didn't know that he would be evacuated from the team plane in a few hours and traded to the Giants.
The Red Sox finished three games of rivals that day, over 0.500 with a 37-36 score, but the Yankees trailed 6 1/2 games in the 42-28 Eastern Conference and stepped back halfway in the wildcard seat.
When they finally met again – this time it was a four-game series at Yankee Stadium, a lot of changes happened besides the departure of Devers.
However, competitors are ready to compete with each other and there is a lot to do. The Yankees (69-57) led the wildcard rankings, but slightly surpassed the Red Sox (68-59), with their third place in Seattle (68-60) in halftime.
If the season ends with Sox and Yankees having the first two wildcards, they will open the playoffs with each other’s best game. Carrots are the team that ends with a better record and will host the entire series.
Given that both teams this season are much better at home than they are on the go, that's no small matter.
Here are some key storylines that get into the latest showdown between competitors.
Bregman joins the competition
When Boston scored one-fifth of five-sixths from New York on the back-to-back weekend in June, the club's main new acquisition Alex Bregman was on the injury list with a severe right Quad pull, leaving him for about seven weeks.
Bregman's presence is huge for the Red Sox, not only in the wild, but in canoes and clubs. In a short time, Boston has become his team. He is no stranger to the fierce showdown with the Yankees. Bregman's Astros overturned the Yankees in seven games in the 2017 American League Championship Series. Two years later, Houston once again led New York with six ALCS games. To add additional salt to the wound, 'Stros sweeps the Yankees in '22 Alcs.
Although Bregman and all the key astronauts are always scattered throughout Boo on visits to Yankee Stadium, especially in the Revelation, the '17 team stole the signs by improper use of technology, his contempt would be loud because of his Boston uniform. Sox entered the series, losing three-pointers in three straight games, and eight of 12 were.
“I’m absolutely excited,” Bregman said. “Two really good teams are pursuing it. I think we can switch [our recent misfortune] Use a bat's swing or a court or a defensive effect. Yes, it was 100% difficult at the beginning of the year when we last played and I'm so grateful to come back. ”
Fried's ERA was 1.89 until 15 starts after a 2-0 loss against the Red Sox on June 15. But, since July 1, Fried has simply been different, and has been pitching at 6.80 ERA in his last eight games.
Despite the crochet mistakes here or there, he was basically a rock from Boston, hitting 196 with a 2.43 ERA 13-5, 159 1/3 innings.
They will miss each other this weekend, with Fried kicking the ball to the Yankees on Friday and crocheting heading to Boston on Saturday.
What happened to the judge and Stanton?
When the Red Sox held a pre-preliminary scout meeting, the frighteningly lazy Judge Aaron and Giancarlo Stanton always caught a lot of attention. The judge served on the injury list with the correct flexor strain for 10 days, and so far it has been limited to DH since his return, forcing the vulnerable Stanton into the outfield. The judge has claimed three home runs in the first 13 of his first 13 games, but he is still working to be a near-unstop power earlier this season.
Like Bregman, Stanton stood out in the first two competitive series as he bounced from problems with two elbows. He quickly made up for the wasted time, releasing 14 home runs in his first 45 games and releasing 1.005 OPS.