This one could be a classic.
For the first time in Major League Baseball's wild-card era, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will meet in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
The storied rivals have faced off three times in the League Championship Series (1999, 2003 and 2004), but the short series format is an entirely different challenge for two teams that won 100 games this season.
Each team has some question marks surrounding its pitching, and this series promises to be a slugfest. Boston finished atop the majors in runs and slugging percentage, while the Yankees finished second in both categories. In 19 meetings between the teams, they combined for 218 runs, an average of more than 11 per game.
Here are each teams' keys to victories in this series:
Red Sox need to keep Yankees in the ballpark
This is of course much easier said than done considering the Yankees set the major-league record for home runs in a season. Still, most of Boston's starters have done a good job containing their rival this season. Rick Porcello gave up just one homer in 23⅓ innings against the Yankees this season, Chris Sale surrendered one in 13 innings and Nathan Eovaldi didn't let New York go deep in 16 innings. David Price though, gave up nine in four starts.
Yankees must get into Boston's bullpen
If there's one area of the Red Sox that doesn't inspire confidence, it's the team's relief corps. Boston's bullpen struggled down the stretch and its 4.84 ERA in September was the worst in the American League. Even lights-out closer Craig Kimbrel had a rough go, posting a 4.57 ERA in the second half. Sale hasn't thrown six innings in a start since July, so the Red Sox may need to piece together multiple innings even when their ace is on the hill.
Red Sox need to run
Boston finished third in the majors with 125 steals and they'll need to keep the pressure on in this series. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has one of the best arms in baseball, but he's been vulnerable this year, allowing runners to steal at a 70% success rate. He also led the majors with 18 passed balls, despite playing only 76 games.
Yankees need to steal a win against Sale or Price
Sale dominated the Yankees in two starts this season, giving up one run with 19 strikeouts in 13 innings. While Price's postseason struggles are well-documented (5.03 ERA in 71 ⅓ innings), he pitched like his old self in the second half and is expected to start Game 2. The Yankees must win one of two in Boston to regain home-field advantage with potentially favorable matchups against Porcello and Eovaldi in the Bronx.
Series schedule:
- Game 1: Friday, at Boston, TBS, 7:32
- Game 2: Saturday, at Boston, TBS, 8:15
- Game 3: Monday, at Yankees, TBS
- Game 4 (if necessary): Tuesday, at Yankees, TBS
- Game 5 (if necessary): Oct. 11, Thursday, at Boston, TBS
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