Yankees Surge Past Slumping Red Sox In Power Rankings

The New York Yankees enter play Thursday with a five-game winning streak while the Boston Red Sox arrive in the Bronx with a three-game losing streak.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora, left, talks with Yankees manager Aaron Boone during batting practice before Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, in New York. Nyy Vs Bos Game 3 | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

They say opposites attract and that's certainly true on Thursday when the red-hot New York Yankees open a four-game series with the slumping Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees enjoy a 1 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card standings. New York also sits ahead of Boston in ESPN's latest MLB Power Rankings. The Yankees moved from No. 12 to No. 8 while the Red Sox fell from No. 10 to No. 11.

"The Yankees are scariest with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both in the lineup -- just look at Tuesday's home run barrage in Tampa," ESPN's Jorge Castillo wrote Thursday. "But that won't happen every day until Judge recovers enough from his flexor strain to be cleared to return to the outfield. When that will happen remains unclear. Judge increased his throwing to 150 feet this week, which qualifies as a positive development, but a return date to right field has not been publicly set.

"For now, Judge is the Yankees' every-day designated hitter, which means Stanton, who is 35 and doesn't move well, has to play right field to be in the lineup," Castillo added. "The Yankees are making it work, but getting Judge cleared to play the outfield -- even just occasionally, if not every day -- could make a significant difference."

The Yankees' bats couldn't be hotter. They slugged 14 home runs in their last two games, a pair of wins over the Tampa Bay Rays. As a result, New York tied a major-league record for most homers in a two-game series.

Aug 20, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) hits a two run home run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

"The 1999 Reds previously held the record, doing so Sept. 4-5 against the Philadelphia Phillies -- with current Yankees manager Aaron Boone hitting one of the home runs for Cincinnati," ESPN reported.

"In all, the Yankees have scored 19 runs in the past two games and all of them have come via homers. That's the most consecutive runs they've scored via homers since 2020 (20 straight)," ESPN added.

According to Yankees PR, New York is also the first team to have two games in a single season with nine home runs. The Yankees also clubbed nine homers back on March 29 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

However there's one other stat that should be on the radar: 1-5. That's the Yankees' record this year against the Red Sox.

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