Red Sox and Yankees square off for the division lead.

The prediction.

This is always a dicey proposition. Baseball games are really hard to predict given the number of factors that go into one team prevailing over the other. That said, this one seems a little more straight forward than most. With the addition of Steve Pearce, the Red Sox will be able to field a solid lineup against Sabathia and take advantage of his up and down season. And Sabathia is due for a rough start. Expect the Red Sox to take this one in a high scoring affair as the Yankees will do some damage against Boston’s own southpaw.

In game two, I’ll take Chris Sale over Sonny Gray, reverse jinx be dammed. Sale may give up three or four runs, but the Red Sox are scoring at least 4 a game for him. And against Gray, expect the team’s left handed hitters to shine. Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers both continue to hit well, J.D. Martinez keeps crushing the ball and Mookie Betts keeps building that Yankee-killer rep. Betts has a 1.208 OPS against the Yankees this season and an 1.167 in Yankee Stadium. The Sox win this one big.

And here is where the Yankees minimize the damage. David Price hasn’t exactly dominated in big games since coming to Boston. The Yankees present an exceptional challenge for him. He’ll actually take the mound this time, but won’t last long as the Yankees will take him deep several times in the early innings. The Red Sox will get to Severino, but only a little. The Yankees will take a significant but not huge lead into a battle of the bullpens. And the Red Sox pen will not keep the game close. That means the Red Sox will walk way with a two game lead in the division before heading to Washington D.C. for their showdown with the Nationals.

Next: The Red Sox can beat the Yankees for the division.

Got a prediction for how this series will go? How about the division race? Let us know what you are expecting in the comments!