Andrew Callahan joins Boston Sports Tonight to weigh in on the timing of Alex Cora’s three-year extension with the Red Sox
It's been a while since a series between baseball's most intense rivals -- the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees -- has mattered as much as the upcoming three-game showdown at Fenway Park this weekend.
Both teams have a golden opportunity to gain valuable ground not only on each other, but also in the race for first place in the American League East and the three wild card spots.
The Red Sox come into this series having lost five of their six games since the All-Star break. Despite this stretch of lackluster results, the Red Sox are still just one game behind the Kansas City Royals for the third and final playoff berth, as well as two games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second wild card spot.
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Boston currently has a 36.8 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, per FanGraphs. The Yankees have a 97.5 chance of making the postseason. These numbers could swing quite a bit in either direction depending on the outcome of this series.
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A sweep for the Red Sox also would pull them within 1.5 games of the Yankees for second place in the division. The Yankees have a 4.5-game lead on the Red Sox and sit just two games in back of the first-place Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox and Yankees have played just six times to this point in the season. Boston took two out of three games from a June series at Fenway Park and then took two of three from a July series at Yankee Stadium.
Another reason why this series versus the Yankees is important for the Red Sox involves the trade deadline. If the Red Sox play great and win two or three of the games, perhaps Craig Breslow and the front office decide to be a little more aggressive in upgrading their roster ahead of the July 30 deadline. If they get swept or win only one game, maybe the front office takes a more cautious approach.
It would be wise of the Red Sox to be buyers at the trade deadline regardless of how this series unfolds, but a great showing against your top rival could make it pretty tough for Breslow to do nothing of consequence.
The Red Sox did acquire starting pitcher James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, but more reinforcements -- preferably a reliever and/or a right-handed hitter -- are needed to maximize Boston's chances of getting back to the postseason for the first time since 2021.
