First Yankee Stadium Series in 2024 will feature weak rivals – Boston Herald

After 86 games, the Red Sox will play at Yankee Stadium for the first time this year this weekend. It’s a fitting number in 2024, the 20th anniversary of Boston’s historic, one-of-a-kind comeback against the Yankees in the ALCS that led to their first World Series title in 86 years.

The Yankees were in high spirits when they arrived at Fenway on June 14 for the first of four regular season series between the two legendary rivals. They were in first place in the American League East and had the MLB’s best record at 49-22, while the Red Sox were in third place in the division at 35-34.

The Yankees won the first game. The Red Sox won the next two and won the Series with a victory on Father’s Day. Who’s your dad?

Three weeks later, the Red Sox are still in third place (we are in the AL East, after all). That’s about the only thing that hasn’t changed. Boston is on the rise, New York is falling; so both enter the weekend as AL Wild Card teams.

The Red Sox have a season record above .500 through eight games and are 14-6 (.700) over their last 20 games, the second-best record in the major leagues. Since June 13, the Yankees are 5-14, the worst record in baseball over that span.

The Red Sox enter Friday’s game having won their last four games, the longest active winning streak in MLB, and are 5-1-4 in their last 10 series. They also have a 27-16 (.628) road record, including 9-1 in their last 10 road games. The Yankees were just beaten by the Cincinnati Reds for the first time since the 1976 World Series. (And at home.)

Red Sox lineup (July 5)

(L) Jarren Duran CF

Rob Refsnyder RF

Tyler O’Neill LF

(L) Rafael Devers 3B

Connor Wong C

Romy Gonzalez 1B

(L) Masataka Yoshida DH

(L) Enmanuel Valdez 2B

Ceddanne Rafaela SS

Yankees lineup (July 5)

(L) Ben Rice 1B

(L) Juan Soto RF

Aaron Richter DH

(L) Alex Verdugo LF

Gleyber Torres 2B

(L) Austin Wells C

Anthony Volpe SS

(L) Trent Grisham CF

DJ LeMahieu3B

Red Sox vs. Yankees: expected starting pitchers

RHP Tanner Houck vs. LHP Nestor Cortes

Tanner Houck, who has emerged as the star of the Red Sox rotation, has the ball for Game 1. He is 7-6 with a 2.67 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 17 starts. He has already pitched 107.2 innings this season, which is a career high despite just being pressured by the San Diego Padres.

Alex Cora will field a lineup heavy on right-handers against Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes. The 29-year-old left-hander is 4-7 with a 3.51 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 18 starts (105 innings) this season. Right-handers are batting .249 with a .707 OPS against him, while left-handers are hitting a meager .214 average and .568 OPS.

However, the Red Sox manager is not letting go of his two most productive left-handers, Jarren Duran as the leadoff hitter and Rafael Devers as the fourth. Duran has a .255 batting average with a .688 OPS in 111 at-bats against lefties this season. However, in 10 career games (nine starts) at Yankee Stadium, he is 6-for-32 (.188) with a double, two runs, an RBI, a stolen base, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Devers has a .253 average and a .764 OPS in 90 batting appearances against left-handers this year. But he loves to hit against the Yankees and at Yankee Stadium: In 54 regular-season games (53 starts) in the Bronx, he has 54 hits, including seven doubles, and 13 home runs, his most in a major league away ballpark. His 25 home runs against the Yankees and 13 home runs at Yankee Stadium are the most he’s hit against an opponent and in an away ballpark. Saturday afternoon will be his first matchup this year against Gerrit Cole; Devers has already hit seven home runs against the Yankees’ top pitcher in recent regular-season games, more than twice as many as against any other major league pitcher.

For the Red Sox, attacking early will be crucial. According to Max Mannis of Jomboy Media, opponents have scored first in 13 of the Yankees’ last 14 losses, including 16 runs in the first inning.

How to watch Red Sox vs. Yankees

When: 7:10 p.m. ET

Where: Yankee Stadium

TV: NESN, YES, MLB Network (blackout restrictions may apply)

Red Sox Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM, WCCM 1490 AM (Spanish)

Yankees Radio: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280