New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: World Series 2017 Contenders Battle For AL East Lead

Baseball's best rivalry appears to be regaining some life after having none for much of the past decade. The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night as part of a three-game series between the two best teams in the AL East.

It’s been a while since the two teams were both World Series contenders at the same time, but that appears to be the case in the 2017 MLB season. The rivals haven’t both made the playoffs since 2009 when the Yankees won their last championship, and the 2004 ALCS was their last meeting in the postseason.

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New York has been one of the most surprising teams in the league. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Yankees are second to just the Houston Astros for the AL’s best record, leading the Red Sox by two games in the division.

After getting swept by the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 ALDS, Boston was considered the favorite to reach the World Series at the start of the year. With the league’s best offense, they made the biggest splash of the offseason by trading for Chris Sale. The Red Sox haven’t gotten off to quite the start that many expected, but they remain among the best teams in the league.

The Yankees will be fortunate to miss Sale during the upcoming series in the Bronx. The left-hander has been one of the AL’s best pitchers in his first season with the Red Sox, going 7-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. His 119 strikeouts are the most in MLB, and he’s owned New York throughout his career.

Few pitchers in history have been better than Sale against the Yankees, posting a 1.31 ERA in 61.2 innings. That includes a start at Fenway Park earlier this season in which he allowed two runs in eight innings and struck out 10 batters. New York actually won that contest behind a masterful performance by Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka threw a three-hit shutout in Boston on April 27, completing a two-game sweep by New York. But it was one of the right-hander’s few good performances in a season that’s been highlighted by the worst outings of his career. Tanaka has surrendered at least seven runs on three occasions, including his last start, and he doesn’t exactly have the easiest assignment Tuesday night against the Red Sox lineup.

All three starters that will go for Boston at Yankee Stadium haven’t had the kind of season they envisioned for the first two months of 2017. Drew Pomeranz has pitched better of late, but he still has an ERA north of 4.00. Rick Porcello hasn’t looked anything like he did during his 2016 AL Cy Young campaign, and David Price has only made two starts because of an injury.

With struggling starting pitchers and two of the league’s best offenses, a lot of runs could be scored over the three-game series. Led by AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge, New York has scored the second-most runs in the league. After struggling in April, Boston was second in runs in May.

Let’s take a look at the schedule and starting pitching matchups for the upcoming series between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

Drew Pomeranz (5-3, 4.24 ERA) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (5-5, 6.34 ERA)

Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

Rick Porcello (3-7, 4.24 ERA) vs. C.C. Sabathia (6-2, 4.12 ERA)

Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

David Price (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-3, 3.76)