The Yankees are back home tonight, and the first thing waiting for them in the Bronx is a three-game series against the Red Sox. It arrives just as Aaron Judge is about to go on the injured list with a rib stress fracture, a blow that could keep him out until August at the absolute earliest.
That is why the Yankees game today search is about more than a rivalry opener. New York returned on Tuesday after a week out west, dropped the first two games against the Guardians and salvaged the finale 2-1, then came back to face a Boston club that has already sent Brayan Bello down after losing two of three to the Orioles. The Red Sox are also without Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Garrett Whitlock, which leaves both sides trying to piece together lineups while one of the sport’s biggest names heads to the shelf.
The matchup board adds its own weight. Friday brings Ryan Weathers against Sonny Gray at 7:05 pm ET, Saturday has Will Warren against Ranger Suarez at 7:35 pm ET, and Sunday closes the set with Cam Schlittler against Connelly Early at 1:35 pm ET. Weathers has never appeared against Boston, while Gray, traded to Boston over the offseason, has been sharp since the beginning of May with a 2.00 ERA, a 2.73 FIP and 28 strikeouts in 27 innings.
Gray’s presence gives the series a jolt, but the Yankees have a more immediate concern. Without Judge, the lineup loses the hitter around whom everything has been built, and the timing is awkward with a home crowd getting its first look at this stretch against a rival that has not played cleanly itself. Warren’s line against Boston is rough, at a 9.42 ERA in 14.1 innings, and the Red Sox have posted a 1.029 OPS against him. Suarez has also been uneven lately, allowing nine runs in 10 combined innings over his last two starts after giving up one run in 21.2 innings over the three starts before that.
That leaves the Yankees with a simple problem and no easy fix: they need runs now, not after Judge returns, and this series starts before anyone knows exactly how they will manufacture them. Schlittler will get a quick rematch of sorts with Early after the two met in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, but the bigger storyline is whether New York can absorb Judge’s absence and still leave the weekend in control of a division rivalry that has already turned physical on the injury report.
