New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox 2018: Strength against strength

The Stage is Set

No matter how or why they got here, though, they’re all here now, in this rivalry. And the chase for the championship. Finally, starting tonight, we get to see the immovable object against the unstoppable force as the Yankees will put out their most feared lineup in direct response to Boston’s best pitchers.

That’s strength on strength. The Yankees are weakened a bit against righties, like Thursday’s starter Rick Porcello, as they break up their three fiercest hitters.

But against lefties, the Yankees become the Bombers.

They put Judge, Stanton and Sanchez back-to-back-to-back, and even the baseballs are scared. But not Chris Sale or David Price.

Sale last year finished with a 2.90 ERA and 0.970 WHIP. That went nicely with his 308 strikeouts in 214 innings. His second place in the Cy Young voting provides the necessary context. And although Price was injured last season, he still finished with a 3.38 ERA.

This year the two have already picked up their Hall of Fame careers right where they left them.

Wednesday’s starter, Price, has pitched two games and 14 innings so far in 2018. While it would be impossible to improve on his ERA (0.00), it does make his WHIP look positively bloated (0.714). He’s also already struck out ten and given up a tiny half-a-hit per inning.

Sale, meanwhile, is holding up his end as well, albeit in less spectacular fashion. Still, his 0.82 ERA and 0.818 WHIP over his first two starts renews his Cy Young chase. That’s especially true when you add his 15 SO to only three walks in 11 innings.