Yankees vs. Red Sox: Which team has the edge on Opening Day?

We’re in for a 2018 treat, as the Red Sox, Yankees rivalry appears to once again be at full strength. It’s evident one of these teams will take the division, but which one will it be?

No disrespect to the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, or Tampa Bay Rays, but the American League East is a two-horse race from the get-go. That’s right, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are in a whole other class than their AL East counterparts. The rivalry is back in full gear, and the 19 games between the two teams will be highly anticipated in 2018.

The Yankees improved this offseason after acquiring 2017’s home run king, Giancarlo Stanton. The Red Sox executed a notable offseason move of their own, signing slugger J.D. Martinez to a five-year, $110 million contract.

Boston and New York appear incredibly evenly matched; it’s challenging to argue one team over the other regarding talent and potential. But there will be an AL East division champ, and it will be either the Yanks or the Sox. Which of the two will it be?

Starting Pitching vs. Starting Pitching

Red Sox

Boston’s greatest strength is their starting rotation. The team is dealing with a few setbacks to some starting arms. However, aces Chris Sale and David Price are not among them. Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez should be healthy soon, and knuckleballer Steven Wright will return after serving a 15-game suspension to open the year.

Once their staff takes its true form, the Red Sox will boast arguably the best rotation in MLB. Chris Sale is a top-five pitcher in baseball and David Price is not too far behind him. Pomeranz and Rodriguez have proven very difficult to hit based on their high strikeout totals. And Steven Wright’s role is to be determined, though it never hurts to have an effective knuckleballer on staff.

The keys to the Red Sox starting staff is the health of David Price and the productivity of Rick Porcello. Porcello followed up a 2016 Cy Young season with a lackluster 2017. Boston will need him to perform more like his 2016 self to prove worthy to the team.

Yankees

Speaking of Cy Young awards, Yankees ace Luis Severino is well on his way to one. Expect nothing less from Severino than a dominant season in 2018. The staff fills out with Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia, Sonny Gray, and Jordan Montgomery.

You can argue the success or failure for each of the final four starters. Tanaka, Gray, and Sabathia are definite question marks. Tanaka and Gray are very streaky pitchers. New York will have to wait and see how long it takes each to get into a groove this season. Sabathia is 37 years old. He still has a stellar slider; however, stamina and consistency will be of the utmost concern for the lefty hurler.

Ultimately, Tanaka and Gray will be the keys to the starting staff. The team will need 12-15 wins from each to keep pace with the Boston staff.

Better Starting Pitching: Boston Red Sox

Offense vs. Offense

Red Sox

The Red Sox lineup is solid from top to bottom. Starting at the top with Xander Bogaerts and working its way down to a talented Jackie Bradley Jr. Oddly enough, the team that lives in Fenway Park dealt with power struggles last season. The Sox lineup consisted of high contact hitters that hit for good batting averages and got on base. What they lacked last season was a big-time power hitter. Coincidentally, it happened to be the year after David Ortiz retired.

In steps J.D. Martinez. The team is expecting Martinez to be their prototype slugger in the middle of the lineup this season and for seasons to come. Though, Martinez won’t hit 150 home runs on his own. Boston will need other hitters to step up in the power department as well.

It will also be interesting to see how some of the younger Red Sox bats stack up as they progress in their careers. Specifically, Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers. Devers is a significant talent with major expectations; however, he is aided by some third base depth thanks to Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt. Benintendi, on the other hand, is expected not only to progress but to be one of Boston’s most prominent run producers and run scorers.

Yankees

The New York Yankees undoubtedly have one of the top offenses in Major League Baseball. Obviously, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have stolen the Yankees’ headlines from the moment Stanton signed with New York to the final day of spring training. Each is coming off a 50+ home run season. Thus, all anyone can talk about is the total number of homers the two will combine for in the upcoming year.

There are other players on the Yankees—good ones at that. Didi Gregorius had a career season in 2018, and Gary Sanchez has shown zero signs of regression since he stormed into the league.

The Yankee offense could be streaky as its load of power hitters is clustered at the top of the order, and all are prone to the strikeout. However, there is no cure for the long ball…

New York could be down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth. Suddenly, the leadoff man gets a base hit up the middle, the closer pitches too carefully to Judge in the two spot and walks him, and then Stanton comes up , blasts a walk-off home run. You can’t walk Stanton because Sanchez, batting behind Stanton, could easily line a double into the gap and win the game in that fashion.

The point is the Yankees’ offense is extremely dangerous, and they can strike in a hurry. An opposing pitcher can pitch his team to a deficit before he even breaks a sweat.

Better offense: New York Yankees

Which is the better team on day one?

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Despite the New York Yankees taking two of the three categories, the Boston Red Sox are the better team at the start of the regular season. Reason being, starting pitching is the key to lasting success.

Boston is dealing with a few injuries to starters out of the gate, but the injuries are minor, and their rotation should take form by the end of April. The New York Yankees rotation has too much to prove at the beginning of the year.

New York has an incredible offense, but offenses are naturally streaky, even one that has Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. The Yankees will be atop the AL in nearly every offensive category by the season’s end. Though at the start, their lineup may take some tweaking to find the ideal suit for such a star-studded bunch.

Ultimately, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will be neck and neck maybe all the way through September. It will be exciting to see what each team does at the trade deadline, as we all know each group will be in position, and able to afford whatever missing piece they need.

Next: Yanks most intriguing questions as 2018 begins

Let the rivalry unravel! Happy opening day!