BOSTON -- It's no secret that the New York Yankees hate where they are right now.
That is, the Bronx Bombers' decision makers openly despise being in second place in the American League East, behind their rival Boston Red Sox, who have opened up a 5½-game margin in the division.
"No, I don't like our position," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "I want to be where they're sitting right now.
"They're in front of us. They're the team we're chasing. They're the team we want to pass."
Perhaps that explains the common thread to Cashman's biggest trade-deadline moves: The three pitchers he acquired all have strong numbers against the Red Sox.
There's good reason to be focused on beating Boston. With 10 games between the teams remaining, beginning with a four-game set at Fenway Park that opens Thursday night, the fate of the division could rest in the remaining head-to-head meetings.
Can the Yankees catch the Red Sox? The answer might be determined by some factors that have changed since the teams last played a month ago.
The trade deadline
Yankees: Pitching, pitching and more pitching is where New York turned prior to Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline. After acquiring left-handed reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore last week, the Yankees added lefty starter J.A. Happ from Toronto on Thursday. Earlier this week, Lance Lynn came over from Minnesota and was added to the bullpen, giving the team a long reliever with starter's experience. Lynn also could serve as a sixth starter as the Yankees fight through their current stretch of 20 games in 20 days.
The Red Sox were a clear factor in these moves. Britton has 14 career saves against the Red Sox. Lynn has hung a 1.80 lifetime ERA on them. Happ has a 0.84 ERA in two starts versus Boston this season and is 7-4 in 18 career starts against the Sox.
Red Sox: More important than those 14 saves, Britton reportedly was part of Boston's trade plans before the Yankees swooped in. Although the Red Sox's front-line starters draw the most attention, their bullpen for the most part has performed well. Still, as much of a strength as the Boston pen has been at times, it trails New York's and Houston's in ERA and hits allowed. Getting a sinkerballer of Britton's caliber would have been a boost.
Instead, Boston acquired Nathan Eovaldi from Tampa Bay to slot into the starting rotation. The former Yankee had also drawn New York's interest in the lead-up to the trade deadline. The Red Sox also acquired Ian Kinsler from the Angels. Kinsler gives them a veteran Gold Glove infielder to help absorb the loss of second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia might not be ready to play until very late in the season -- if he returns at all -- after appearing in just three games this season, due to a knee injury.
Advantage:
Injuries
Yankees: Since the All-Star break, the Yankees have had a relative power outage, hitting just nine home runs in 12 games after clubbing a record-setting 161 through their first 93. Among the key reasons for the drop-off: Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge have been missing from the lineup lately.
Sanchez went on the 10-day disabled list July 24 after aggravating a right groin strain that had already cost him 20 games. The night before, the catcher was roundly criticized for not going hard after a wild pitch and not running hard enough to beat a crucial, late-game ground ball. A run scored from second on the wild pitch, and the tying run might have scored on what became Sanchez's game-ending groundout.
Two days after Sanchez hit the DL, Judge joined him with a chip fracture in his right wrist after being hit by a pitch. The initial outlook on Judge wasn't promising, but he received a better prognosis than anticipated and is expected to miss just three weeks. Judge thinks he'll be able to work off a tee and take dry swings in the next few days. Sanchez could be down about another month, according to Cashman.
The Yankees also are monitoring outfield prospect Clint Frazier, who would have been an option to fill Judge's shoes had he not been diagnosed with post-concussion migraines. Frazier was first hurt in spring training when he hit his head on an outfield wall while attempting to make a catch. He has been up and down between the Yankees and Triple-A in recent weeks.
Red Sox: This week has been unkind to the Red Sox on the injury front.
Suddenly their starting rotation has been plagued by injuries, with Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale both on the 10-day disabled list. Rodriguez went on the DL Monday because of a right ankle sprain and is expected back at some point in September. Sale, the ace of the staff, won't pitch in this series as scheduled because of inflammation in his left shoulder, but he's expected to pitch Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
With Rodriguez and Sale out, the Yankees will dodge a pair of lefties who have a combined 22-7 record. Neither pitcher has given up a run in his past three starts. Instead, the Yankees will face Brian Johnson, Rick Porcello, Eovaldi and David Price. In their most recent game against the Red Sox, the Yankees tagged Price for eight runs and five home runs in 3⅓ innings. Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks had three homers in that game.
Along with the injuries in the rotation, key position players Rafael Devers (sent to the DL on Sunday with a hamstring injury) and Xander Bogaerts (sore after being hit by a pitch on his right hand Tuesday) are banged up, while starting catcher Christian Vazquez is out after surgery on a broken pinkie.
Advantage: Even
Remaining schedule
Yankees: A series win this weekend would do wonders for building some momentum and cutting into the current deficit. Take three of four, and the Yankees would trim the lead to 3½ games. Sweep, and the Yankees would be just 1½ games back.
But don't expect skipper Aaron Boone to read too deeply into the results of this series.
"I don't get caught up in the 'We need to go win three, we need to split, we need to whatever it is,'" the Yankees manager said Wednesday. "We need to go play well. And we know that when we go there, especially in Fenway Park, it's a great team that can beat you in a lot of different ways. So I know we have to be at our best if we're going to win games.
"We continue to do that throughout the last couple of months of the season, hopefully we'll put ourselves in a good position."
They certainly could. Of the Yankees' 53 remaining games, 33 come against teams with losing records. While that ought to help them cut into Boston's lead, it could prove problematic. The Yankees are a mediocre 31-18 against teams with losing records. The Orioles, who have just 33 wins all season, are an even 6-6 against the Yankees.
Meanwhile, New York is 30-17 against teams that entered play Wednesday with winning records. Their .638 win percentage in such games is the best in the bigs, and about half of the Yankees' final 25 games come against teams that could be part of the postseason picture. That includes six games against Boston.
Red Sox: The Yankees enter this weekend holding a 5-4 edge in a season series that has so far included six games at Yankee Stadium. New York took two of three in the teams' previous meeting, which came in the Bronx as June turned into July. In May, the Yankees took two of three in another series at home.
In the lone series at Fenway, Boston battered the Yankees for two big wins in a three-game set that featured the most fireworks the rivalry has seen this season. When Tyler Austin (traded to the Twins this week in the deal for Lynn) charged the mound toward Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, punches were thrown, and suspensions were levied. Those emotions could erupt again as this tight division race continues.
Although 16 of the Yankees' remaining games come against teams that are either current division leaders or among the top wild-card contenders, 25 of Boston's final 53 games are against that same type of competition. That includes the 10 against the Yankees, as well as five games against the Phillies and Braves, who are involved in a tight division race in the NL East that could go down to the final week.
Advantage:
That said ...
The Red Sox, though they bowed out earlier than the Yankees in last year's playoffs, are the defending division champs. They're in the midst of what could be the best season in franchise history, and heading into this weekend, at least, they hold a commanding lead. Although two of the Yankees' biggest sluggers are hurt, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez seem to one-up each other on a nightly basis as they make their cases for AL MVP.
These games could narrow the division, but they could also go Boston's way ... which would leave the Yankees with an even taller order down the stretch.
Advantage: