The final Red Sox home series of the regular season gets underway Friday at Fenway, and it's only fitting that it includes the Yankees as the opposition.
In an unusual season -- complete with an over-achieving first half, a downturn in play in the second, a raging COVID outbreak and a late-season hot streak in the closing weeks -- a visit from the arch-rivals seems like the perfect way to close out the home half of the schedule.
"It should be fun,'' said Alex Cora after his team completed a sweep of the other New York team Wednesday. "Not too many people thought that that series was going to mean something. And a lot of people thought it was going to (only) mean a lot to them, coming into the season. Probably, people thought that we were going to play spoilers, late in the season. That's not the case. Now we're in a battle with them and other teams. The mindset will be the same -- try to win the series and move on.''
Indeed, that the Red Sox enter the series ahead of the Yankees in the standings was probably not the predicted outcome when the season began. The Yankees were viewed as, at worst, co-favorites to win the division while the Red Sox' goals were far more modest: make progress from a last-place finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Sox have done that and more. With 88 wins and nine games remaining, they're virtually assured of cracking the 90-win threshold and solid favorites to win one of the two wild card spots in the American League. But as the season has progressed, the goalposts have shifted some and anything less than an advancement to the Division Series will be seen -- by some at least -- as a failure.
Other than a three-game sweep by the Yankees in New York last month, the Red Sox have dominated head-to-head play this year, though not at the level that the Yankees did in each of the previous two seasons. In the first four series between the clubs, the Sox won the first seven games and 10 of the first 13.
But late in July, the two franchises seemed to be heading in opposite directions. While the Yankees acquired two lefty hitters -- Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo -- to bolster their unbalanced lineup, the Red Sox took a more conservative approach, acquiring the then-injured Kyle Schwarber along with two low-leverage relievers. The Yankees immediately got a boost from Gallo and Rizzo -- each of whom made big contributions right away, while the Sox waited patiently for Schwarber to heal from a serious hamstring pull.
Less than two months later, the evaluation of the teams' Trade Deadline activity has shifted. Schwarber has slashed .297/.431/.541 with six homers and 17 RBI, while averaging nearly a run scored per game. He's still a somewhat awkward roster fit without an obvious and natural position to play, but his offensive gifts have been significant.
Meanwhile, both Rizzo and Gallo have cooled. In September, Rizzo has had just four extra-base hits and six RBI with a .742 OPS. And true to his career profile, Gallo has had difficulty making contact, averaging more than 1.5 strikeouts per game (75 in 49 games). And while his 13 homers since joining the Yanks is impressive, most (eight) of those have been solo shots.
When the Yankees were ripping off 13 straight wins in August, it seemed obvious that they were about to leave the Sox far behind in the standings. That feeling was only compounded when, on the very night the streak ended, the Sox experienced the beginning of their COVID outbreak. As the Sox lost player after player to the IL, their playoff chances looked doomed.
But a funny thing happened. The Red Sox survived the temporary decimation of their roster, and the Yankees suddenly nosedived, losing 12-of-15 to fall behind the Red Sox. The Yankees find themselves in desperate need of a series win this weekend -- not so much to overtake the Red Sox, but to hold off the Toronto Blue Jays, who sit just a half-game in back of them.
It won't get easier for the Yankees after Sunday night, either. While the Red Sox finish with two road series against last-place teams (Baltimore and Washington) the Yankees must travel to Toronto for a series against the Blue Jays before returning home for a season-ending set with Tampa Bay. The Rays will have clinched the division by then, but always take delight in beating their deep-pocketed division opponents.
Should the Sox win the series, it will likely all but clinch one of the wild card spots for them, given the ease of schedule in the final week. Even a 3-3 split against the Orioles and Nationals would give the Sox 93 wins, meaning that the Yankees would have to win out and go 6-0 just to tie the Sox. And if that scenario were to happen, the Yankees would still finish short because the season series tiebreaker is already held by the Sox.
"It should be fun, it should be loud,'' said Cora, ignoring, for now, the math. "It should be what it's all about: Yankees-Red Sox going at it. It should be a great show for baseball.''