2022 Opening Day: Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees lineup notes

The Boston Red Sox visit the New York Yankees on Opening Day

The 2022 season kicks off one week late following a tedious lockout and the delay was extended an additional day by inclement weather, but Opening Day has finally arrived. The Boston Red Sox head to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees.

The ultra-competitive AL East sent three teams to the postseason last year and became the first division in MLB history with four 90+ win teams. Every meeting between division rivals will be pivotal in a tight race so the Red Sox will aim to get their season started on the right track against one of their fiercest competitors.

This is the first time since April 1, 2013 that the Red Sox and Yankees are opening their seasons against each other. You might recall that the Red Sox weren’t considered contenders entering the season but shocked the world by winning a championship.

Red Sox vs Yankees game info

Location: Bronx, New York
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium
First Pitch: 1:05 p.m. EST

Red Sox vs Yankees starting pitcher matchup

Nathan Eovaldi vs Gerrit Cole

• Opening Day features a battle of aces. Cole was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young award last season while Eovaldi finished fourth.
• Eovaldi joins exclusive company as the 12th pitcher in Red Sox history to make three or more consecutive Opening Day starts.
• Eovaldi took a tough-luck loss on Opening Day last year, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings, only for his team to be shutout at home by the Baltimore Orioles. He beat Baltimore to open the 2020 season in a game where he allowed only one run over six innings. Can Nasty Nate continue the trend of holding opposing lineups to one run in his season debut?
• In 35 career appearances at Yankee Stadium (33 starts), Eovaldi is 12-8 with a 3.60 ERA.

Red Sox vs Yankees lineup notes

• Enrique Hernandez returns to the leadoff role that he thrived in last year. He’s 5-for-12 (.455) in his career against Cole and took him deep to lead off the first inning in a game in June last season.
• Rafael Devers leads the team with three career home runs against Cole.
• Trevor Story makes his Red Sox debut batting sixth. While that’s lower in the order than a star of his caliber typically fits in the lineup, manager Alex Cora doesn’t want to break up the top four of his batting order. Putting Alex Verdugo ahead of Story balances the lineup to avoid having three consecutive right-handed batters. Expect the Red Sox to shakeup their lineup against left-handed starters, with Story being bumped up to the No. 2 hole.
• Josh Donaldson makes his Yankees debut in the leadoff spot. He has hit at the top of the order in only seven career games.
• Contract talk has dominated the past several weeks. The Red Sox were unable to hash out a long-term extension for Devers or Xander Bogaerts, but the Yankees failed to lock up Aaron Judge. None of these star players are interested in discussing their futures once the season begins. It’s time to put the extension talk aside and play ball!

It wasn’t long ago that we worried about if there would be a 2022 season but those concerns have mercifully been put to rest. Opening Day is here and it couldn’t begin any better than with baseball’s best rivalry.