Here are five things to look for if the Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play a three-game series at Fenway Park starting Friday…
Round one of rivalry
Yankees-Red Sox is perhaps the most storied rivalry in baseball, and they will meet for the first time in 2024 this weekend.
While the Red Sox – a modest and surprising 35-34 – aren’t on the same level as the 49-22 Yankees, these two teams always feed off the energy of this series and are usually very entertaining games.
And yes, Boston just enjoyed taking a series against the Philadelphia Phillies, including scoring eight-plus runs in two straight games. So they’re clicking now. Let’s see what happens this weekend.
Alex Verdugo’s return to Boston
Verdugo was part of a rare trade between the two sides this season, and it worked out very well for New York.
In 68 games with the Yanks, Verdugo is slashing .259/.314/.418 with eight home runs and 37 RBI. And his defense in left field has provided a big boost. Although Verdugo seemingly wore out his welcome in his final season in Boston, he was still very effective with the Red Sox.
Four seasons in Boston saw Verdugo hit .281/.338/.424 with 43 home runs and 206 RBI. He even finished 12th in the MVP voting in his first season in Boston (2020).
The Fenway faithful should give Verdugo a warm welcome, but it’s Boston, so you never know.
Verdugo’s best numbers came at Fenway, where he hit .288 while launching 21 home runs, hitting 68 doubles and driving in 97 runs. We’ll see if these trends continue this weekend.
Can Anthony Rizzo continue to improve?
Rizzo’s decline at the plate was an early storyline.
Entering Friday, the 34-year-old is hitting just .223, which isn’t far off from what he’s hit since donning the pinstripes. But he has just 15 extra base hits (eight home runs) and a .282 OBP, a number he hasn’t seen since his freshman year with the Padres.
That lack of production at the plate forced the manager’s hand Aaron Boone to recently bench his first baseman to give him a break and try to come up with a solution. That time off helped.
Rizzo played in three of four games in Kansas City, going 2-for-11 with a walk. On paper that’s not great. But you can see he’s throwing the ball up there and has been a bit unlucky. And he hit a home run in Thursday’s loss — his first since May 10.
Could he continue that trend this weekend? Interestingly enough, Rizzo hasn’t had much success at Fenway. He is 16-for-87 (.203) with nine doubles and only one home run in his career there.
Recent bullpen woes
The Yankees bullpen has been a big part of the team’s success this year, but they have struggled as of late.
Clay Holmes gave up two runs in the ninth inning of Thursday’s loss, his fourth save this season. In the first three games of the Royals series, the bullpen surrendered five runs on 10 hits and six walks over nine innings.
Luckily for the Yanks, the starters have gotten deep into games and the offense has clicked, meaning the recent shakiness of the pin hasn’t really been an issue. But it’s clearly this team’s weakness.
Can Carlos Rodon make another great start?
Rodon made up for his terrible start in Kansas City last season with one of his best players earlier this week.
On Monday, the left-hander gave up just one run on five hits over seven innings in the team’s victory, and he will look to continue his run of great starts on Saturday. He will be the opposite Cooper Criswellbut he will be up against a line-up that has just eight runs to its name Aaron Nola.
Rodon made just fourteen starts last season and even faced the Red Sox in Boston in 2023. On September 12 last year, Rodon threw five innings, giving up one run on four hits, while walking four and striking out nine.
The southpaw has been quite effective in his career at Fenway. He made just three starts, but gave up just five earned runs in 17.1 innings (2.55 ERA).
