In the final six weeks of their schedule, the Boston Red Sox will play seven games against the New York Yankees, who seem to have kicked their midseason blues to land a game back from the Sox in the Wild Card race.
The Red Sox have two games against the Orioles on August 18-19 — which could be challenging enough — before they play four games in the Bronx. The Yankees may be short a few key players when Boston arrives, which could give it an advantage.
Neither Aaron Judge nor Giancarlo Stanton may be ready to play right field this coming week. Judge has been limited to the designated hitter role after he was diagnosed with a flexor strain and placed on the injured list retroactive to July 26. He was in the throes of potentially the best season of his career when he fell injured, and is batting .333/.447/.687 with a 1.134 OPS, 25 doubles, two triples, 39 homers and 91 RBI over 114 games.
Stanton is, well, Stanton. He's hitting at an almost unfathomable pace in his age-35 season, with a .299/.377/.576 slash line, a .953 OPS and 12 home runs in 44 games. But he didn't appear in the starting lineup for any of New York's three weekend games against the Cardinals due to lower-body soreness from playing right field in three games against the Twins earlier in the week. His soreness could be so severe that he needs an IL stint, but the Yankees are off on August 18, and they more than likely won't make any roster moves until the following day.
Red Sox may not have to face Giancarlo Stanton in upcoming series against Yankees due to possible injury
Judge and Stanton can't both DH, and if neither can play right field, the Red Sox may luck out by only facing one of them per game, or not facing Stanton at all (there's no way Judge is New York's first choice to sit on the bench). Stanton has had considerable success against Boston in his career, with a .270/.349/.486 slash line, an .835 OPS, 15 home runs and 46 RBI against it in 78 appearances.
The Red Sox will throw the heart of their rotation — Lucas Giolto, Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet — at the Yankees in the first three games of the series, which could be much more winnable without Stanton in the lineup. Boston and New York are neck-and-neck in the Wild Card standings, and any advantage the Red Sox can get is a good one. Stanton's absence could slash the Yankees' offensive production, as he's mashed two homers and collected six RBI in his last seven appearances.