The New York Yankees have everything right in front of them. With two weeks left in the MLB regular season, they lead the Baltimore Orioles by two games for the American League East championship and an almost-certain top-two seed in the American League playoffs. We say “almost certain” because the Houston Astros, the leaders of the AL West, are several games behind the Yankees in the standings. Barring a very improbable situation in which Houston surges down the stretch and the Yankees and Orioles both stumble so completely that the Astros finish ahead of them, the AL East champion will be a top-two seed, which is valuable because it offers a wild card bye and a direct ticket to the American League Division Series with home-field advantage. The Yankees have the inside track against a Baltimore team which has fallen into a teamwide slump. The Orioles are having a very rough time at the plate, with Adley Rutschman and most of their other top hitters all going through a low period at the same time. The Yankees have to feel good about their chances. Keep in mind they lost to the Red Sox on Saturday and are still two up because of the Orioles’ struggles over the past few weeks. As long as New York can bounce back here and play generally steady ball over these next two weeks, the Yankees are likely to capture the division and increase their odds of making the World Series for the first time since 2009. It’s World Series or bust for baseball’s most storied and accomplished franchise. There’s really no excuse for a 15-year Series drought given the Yankees’ resources. Winning the East would pave the way for a possible return to the Fall Classic in the Bronx.

Red Sox-Yankees Projected Starters 

Kutter Crawford vs. Carlos Rodon

Kutter Crawford (8-14) has a 4.09 ERA. Crawford has been solid for Boston this season. He isn’t expected to be a superstar in the middle of the rotation. The Red Sox have to be happy with what they have seen in 2024, a year in which the team’s rotation has been hit hard by injuries. Crawford turned in a quality start in his last outing. The same stat line as last week (against the Orioles, interestingly enough) would do just fine.

Last Start: Tuesday, September 10 versus the Baltimore Orioles: 6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 HR, 1 BB, 6 K

2024 Road Splits: 14 starts, 79 IP, 60 H, 39 R, 19 HR, 23 BB, 74 K

Carlos Rodon (14-9) has a 4.21 ERA. He has had a few clunkers in which he has gotten hit very hard, but for the most part, Rodon has been a good starter for the Yankees this year. The ERA doesn’t look great, but Rodon hasn’t been a consistently mediocre pitcher. Most of his starts have been good, but the bad ones have been really bad and have inflated his ERA numbers. That’s frankly a good seasonal progression and pattern for a pitcher. Make the bad starts really bad, but make most starts into good, productive appearances. Rodon is vulnerable to the home run. If he stays away from the long ball, he usually delivers a strong outing.

Last Start: Monday, September 9 versus the Kansas City Royals: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 HR, 1 BB, 9 K

2024 Home Splits: 12 starts, 70 1/3 IP, 52 H, 27 R, 12 HR, 21 BB, 81 K

MLB Odds: Red Sox-Yankees Odds

Boston Red Sox: +1.5 (-137)

Moneyline: +150

New York Yankees: -1.5 (+114)

Moneyline: -178

Over: 8.5 (-115)

Under: 8.5 (-105)

How To Watch Red Sox vs Yankees

Time: 1:35 p.m. ET/10:35 a.m. PT

TV: NESN (Red Sox) / YES (Yankees) / MLB Extra Innings, ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)