It's been some kind of season for the Red Sox in their series against the Yankees. A 10-2 record and a +29 run differential pretty well illustrate the sort of domination they've had against their arch-rivals. Now, with the Yankees headed into town, they have a chance to not only wrap up a convincing series win against New York, but potentially even build a significant lead in the AL East with another sweep.
The Yankees have one crowning moment this past week: their comeback against the Athletics which changed a 7-1 deficit into a 22-9 lead. Other than that, however, they've been dealing with some middling performances. They haven't been bad offensively by any means, just not...impressive. The result, when combined with some very inconsistent pitching performances, is a 3-5 record since August 20.
The same can't be said for the Red Sox, who have gone on quite the roll ever since dropping back-to-back series to the Rays and Mariners. Boston has won eight of their last eleven games, taking series from the Royals, Athletics, and the dreaded Texas Rangers, each in fairly convincing fashion. David Ortiz is back with a vengeance, Adrian Gonzalez isn't far removed from his ridiculous run of homers, and Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury continue to push for MVP considerations.
Can they make New York's nightmare continue? Or will the Yankees finally get the Boston monkey off their backs?
Boston Red Sox (82-51) vs. New York Yankees (80-52)
Tuesday, August 30, 7:10 p.m.
NESN/MLBN
John Lackey (12-9, 5.98 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (17-7, 2.99 ERA)
Wednesday, August 31, 7:10 p.m.
NESN/ESPN
Josh Beckett (11-5, 2.43) vs. Phil Hughes (4-4, 6.46 ERA)
Thursday, September 1, 7:10 p.m.
NESN/MLBN
Jon Lester (14-6, 3.09) vs. A.J. Burnett (9-11, 5.31)