Yankees looking to ‘flip the script’ on Red Sox as series with playoff implications set to begin

Aaron Boone likes to compartmentalize and, with all the hype that will probably accompany this weekend’s series in the Bronx between the Yankees and Red Sox, that’s probably the wise way to approach it, no matter how crucial the series may be. 

“It’s like, what do we got Friday?” the Yankees’ manager asked rhetorically. “We got Cam (Schlittler) going and, go out there and try and play our best. Don’t get obsessed with the results and the results of the weekend when you’ve got to take care of the first pitch of the first inning on Friday night. So that’s how I look at it.” 

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Smart outlook, but try telling that to either fanbase. Doubtless, those folks are torqued up about the results. And they should be. The final series of the season between the teams – barring playoffs, of course – is a gut check that’s also loaded with October implications. Might even be a referendum on whether the Yanks can handle being force-fed lefty pitchers come the postseason, too.

At one point this year, it looked like this four-games-in-three-days clash would just be so much schedule-filler. The last time the Yanks and Sox met, in June, Boston came in 14 games below .500, a wreck that had long before fired manager Alex Cora.

But they wiped out the Yanks in four games at Fenway Park, a sweep that started a binge. Since then, the Red Sox are 41-14, including a 15-game winning streak that matched their franchise record, and have morphed into one of the most dangerous teams in the American League. 

“They got us at their place pretty good,” as Aaron Judge put it Thursday. He added: “They went on a great run and continue to play some great baseball, so it’ll be exciting here.” 

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“The reality is, they pitch really well every day,” Boone said, “both from a starting standpoint and a bullpen standpoint. Some of the people they brought in, like (Willson) Contreras – he’s come in and been a beast and a staple in the middle of their order. You’ve seen guys like (Ceddanne) Rafaela go to another level. They’ve had some of their support parts kind of step up and play well, so they’re one of the best teams in the game…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-looking-flip-script-red-032800142.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-28 03:28:00

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