The most talked-about rivalry in baseball resumes Tuesday nightwhen the Red Sox invadethe Bronx for a three-game set against the Yankees.Here are five storylines to watch at Yankee Stadium over the next couple days:1. It matters.Well, as much as any early May series can matter. Somehow, the Yankees have won 15 of their past 16 games and theyre still not in first place in their own division.Thats how good this Red Sox team is in 2018. Boston has the best record in baseball, at 25-9. The Yankees are second, at 24-10. Those are the two best records in baseball, actually. Heres the reality of the situation: one of those teams gets a ticket to the best-of-five ALDS in October, and the other one is going to be thrown into a one-game wild-card contest. Doesnt matter if they both win more than 100 games, and nobody else in baseball gets to triple digits. If you dont win your division, you dont get a
Larry Bird White 1985-86 Swingman Jersey bye into the Division Series.Of course, its po sible to be in the wild-card game and still win the World Series. But wouldnt
Men's Kyrie Irving Icon Edition Green Jersey you rather have to lose three times to be eliminated instead of just losing one game? And thats why head-to-head is so very important, especially between these two very good teams this season. Boston took two of three in Fenwayand has a one-game lead in the AL East at the moment. There are 16 more games in the rivalry this season, and all 16 are very damn important.POWER RANKINGS: Red Sox and Yankees jockey for position in top three2. No Sale.That Yankees lineupisnt scared of anyone, but you have to imagine they dont hate the thought that Boston ace Chris Sale isnt scheduled to pitch in this series at Yankee Stadium. The lanky lefty has been dominant in his career, especially since joining the Red Sox at the start of the 2017 season.In five starts against the Yankees last year, Sale posted a 2.65 ERA and struck out 50 batters in 34 innings. Yes, its true that the Red Sox lost four of the five games he started against New York, but
Kyrie Irving Swingman Icon Edition Jersey that wasnt Sales fault. Boston scored a total of nine runs in those five games. In his lone start against the Yankees this year, Sale struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings of a Boston win.Drew Pomeranz is throwing in the opener for Boston, followed by David Price and a revitalized Rick Porcello in the finale. The Yankees have ace Luis Severino lined up for Tuesday nights opener, then Masahiro Tanaka in the second game and a revitalized CC Sabathia (1.39 ERA) in the third one.MORE: Yankees have found ways to win during 16-2 stretch3. Lingering resentment?You remember what happened the last series these teams played: Tyler Austin slid hard into Brock Holt at second base with his feet up, driving his spikes into Holts legs. Joe Kelly drilled Austin with a fastball his next time at the plate. Mild chaos ensued, a brawl that ended with Kelly suspended six games and Austin four games.Kelly expects to be booed heavily during the series. Knowing what type of person Kelly is, a reporter suggested he might actually enjoy that. No comment but most likely yeah, Kelly said, as reported by the Boston Globe.Im the complete opposite. If it gets loud, my psycho a s thinks theyre cheering for me. Im mentally wrong. Itll be fun.MORE: Relive the Yankees-Red Sox brawl4. Great Gleyber!The kid is only 21 years old, but it feels like Yankees fans have been trumpeting his saving-grace arrival in the bigs for a couple years now, doesnt it? And whaddya know, Gleyber Torres has been everything those fans wanted in his first 15 games of the season. The Yankees called him up after 14 games with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, during which Torres produced a .347 average and 11 RBIs. In his first 15 games with the Yankees, Torres has a .
Jaylen Brown Jerseys 327 average and 11 RBIs. Not too shabby.Hes shown a flair for the dramatic,
Marcus Smart Jerseys too. In the ninth inning Sunday against Cleveland, Torres ended the game with a three-run homer off Dan Otero. Nothing like a walk-off homer in just your 15th game in the major leagues, eh?MORE: Yankees,Red Sox set to play overseas in 20195. Marvelous MookieBostons best player finished second in the AL MVP voting in 2016 and sixth in 2017, and hes been even better so far in 2018.Much better, actually.Betts leads the AL with his .355 average, 1.252 OPS, 13 homers, 36 runs scored, 224 OPS+, 90 total bases and as a 5-9, 180-pound slugger an .818 slugging percentage. Simply, hes been pretty incredible, and any chance we get to watch Mookie is a good day. In the first matchup with the Yankees this year, Betts went 4 for 4 with five runs scored, four RBIs, a home run and two doubles. Lets see what he can do in Yankee Stadium.