Stellar Pitchers, Big Bats, and a Pennant Race: Red Sox-Yankees Will Have It All

Two of MLB's biggest brands entered the season with something to prove.

The Yankees? Getting back to the World Series after last October’s humbling exit. The Red Sox? Reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021. 

But this season, these perennial powers are chasing instead of pacing the league, which has actually led to one of the more thrilling pennant races this year.

Here are five storylines to follow before the most iconic rivalry in baseball takes center stage. 

Old Rivalry, New Meaning

It’s not Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez getting into a shoving match and inciting a benches-clearing brawl for the ages. It’s not Pedro Martinez throwing 72-year-old bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground. It’s not Derek Jeter diving into the stands, or David Ortiz hitting walk-off after walk-off.

Who knows when we’ll see that intense level of hatred again in the Red Sox-Yankees storied rivalry. But the Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway Park the last time they met in June, and that injected some spice back into it. 

New York is 1-5 against Boston this year, and the two teams are set to meet seven more times before the season is over. That means the Yankees can only afford to lose one game against the Red Sox the rest of the way if they want to own the better record in the season series. Why does this matter? After the regular season is over, whether it's a tie atop the division or for the final Wild Card spot, tiebreakers will be determined by the head-to-head record. 

So, this time, the pressure is on the Yankees to prove they can still beat the Red Sox. Let’s not go as far as to suggest the Bronx Bombers are the underdogs. After all, the Yankees are way too talented, and they flash a 2025 payroll that’s $100 million more