Yankees Now Have a Vital Objective as a Result of Red Sox's Surge

As much as the Yankees may hate it, they now have to take the Red Sox serious as a threat.

Boston continues to surge after the All-Star break, capturing its ninth straight victory on Friday to push its record to 64-51. For a moment, the Red Sox were tied with New York for No. 2 in the AL East before the Yanks won in extras.

As these clubs now jockey for position and seeding down the home stretch, their upcoming series at the end of August takes on new meaning—especially in regards to potential tie-breaking scenarios that the Yankees will want to benefit from, if it comes down to that.

Yankees must regain tiebreaker over Red Sox in their late-August series

Of course, New York is going to do everything it can to not only out-place Boston, but also overtake the Rays and take home the division. So keeping pace with the Red Sox isn't top of mind as much as simply racking up wins.

That being said, the Yankees' inability to pull away from the pack means they could be fighting tooth and nail with the Red Sox in the standings over the final month and a half. This makes it a priority, then, to ensure they retake the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston when they face off four times between Aug. 28 and Aug. 30.

Currently, the Red Sox are up in the season series 5-4. Boston's demoralizing sweep of New York in late June flipped the tiebreaker on its head after the Yankees initially went up 4-1.

Notably, their approaching late-August affair is also the last time these teams will play in the regular season, so this is New York's only chance to change the current tiebreak situation.

Splitting the series would do nothing for the Yankees, so they need to win at least three games to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Red Sox. Potentially complicating that objective, however, is the fact these teams will play a double-header on Saturday, Aug. 29 to make up for the previous rain out on June 6.

New York has split both of its double-headers to date this season, winning the first game against both the Dodgers and Pirates before losing the second. Meanwhile, Boston went a successful 2-0 against Tampa Bay on July 17 before splitting against the Orioles on July 22.

This will certainly challenge the Yankees' bullpen, which did not receive extra help at the trade deadline, but the impending returns of Carlos Rodón (and potentially Clarke Scmidt) could also provide an enormous pitching boost in the biggest series of the campaign if they're ready.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox hold the element of surprise over New York when they square off again after their busy deadline. This simply isn't the same Boston roster the Yankees have previously faced with star catcher Adley Rutschman added to the mix, plus impeccable reliever Erik Miler, which could help sway things in the rivals' favor.

That said, New York can't lie down. Its big-time players need to recognize the weight of this series and step up, not just to rule out getting the short end of a tiebreaker, but also to deal their fiercely hated foes a punch to the gut as they enter the final month of the season.

There's no better way to bring the Red Sox down from their high and plant some seeds of doubt ahead of the playoffs than the Yankees taking their series in demanding fashion to end August.

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