The Boston Red Sox on August 24 left Yankee Stadium as series winners for the second time this season, and they swept the Fenway Park series in between. Boston entered the Sunday series finale primed to make some history against the New York Yankees, but it was thwarted as they staved off a sweep.
Had the Red Sox swept the Yankees from August 21-24, it would've been their longest winning streak against their rival since 2009 — the Red Sox have only mustered three eight-game winning streaks against the Yankees in franchise history, and a nine-game streak would've tied their record. Boston was also in line to complete a four-game sweep New York at Yankee Stadium, and it would've been its first since July 1939 (via MLB insider Buster Olney of ESPN).
Despite their Sunday loss and the lack of franchise history or a sweep, the Red Sox left the Bronx as massive winners and embarrassed the Yankees in the process. They claimed the season series from the Yankees with three games against them remaining. Boston now sits a half-game ahead of New York in the American League Wild Card race and it netted the tie-breaker if the teams were to make a run for the top of the division.
The Sox's series win came on the backs of some heroic performances around their roster. In game one, new addition Nathaniel Lowe and Roman Anthony played hero. Lowe broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI double to score Trevor Story, and Anthony followed with a two-run homer to the second deck in the ninth inning.
Despite missing out on franchise history, Red Sox left the Yankees series in the Bronx as massive winners
He's only been with Boston for two series, but Lowe has looked like an incredible signing so far. He appeared in all four games of the Yankees series and notched six hits, including two doubles, and five RBI.
Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet posted ace-caliber performances on August 22-23, respectively. Bello cruised through seven scoreless innings and allowed just four base runners. The Red Sox offered just one run of support that game, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, but Bello held it down. The following day, Crochet allowed just one run on five hits with 11 strikeouts, his second-most in a single outing this year. The offense offered an onslaught of support during Will Warren's start and in a seven-run ninth inning to win, 12-1.
Dustin May posted his second rough start in a Red Sox uniform in attempt to close the series on Sunday. He allowed five runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batsman over 4.1 innings, and the offense couldn't overcome the early deficit.
Regardless of the franchise history they missed out on, the Red Sox quickly asserted themselves as the winners in this year's version of their rivalry with the Yankees. In the last half-decade, Boston's playoff misses have kept the rivalry from feeling consequential, but now that the Sox and Yankees will likely return to the playoffs at the same time, some of the spark could be brought back to the "greatest rivalry in sports."