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Rivalry Returns: Red Sox disappear into the distance as Yankees struggle

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Thursday marked the return of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. In an absolutely incredible four-game series, the Bostonians dominated. This series came at a crucial time in the baseball season, and the Red Sox grasped the opportunity to consolidate their spot atop the American League East.

Game One

Fenway Park looked majestic to open this series. Boston recovered effectively with the newest heavy-hitter in Beantown, Steve Pearce, cracking 3 home runs which led to a 15-7 win for the home team.

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Game Two

In the follow up game, the umpire wanted absolutely nothing to do with Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, who was ejected from the game.

Despite the setback, Pearce delivered once more crushing another home run. The final score was 4-1 to the Sox, however, it was all about star pitcher, Rick Porcello. In just 86 pitches, the former AL Cy Young Award winner deconstructed a struggling Yankee line-up. Evidence of this is not too hard to find either, considering he retired 21 straight.

       

Game Three

Saturday saw another fascinating game. In another 4-1 victory over their bitter rivals, J.D. Martinez nailed a league leading 33rd home run on the season. In addition, Nathan Eovaldi was once again dominant in his new uniform. More of the same, the Sox hope.

Game Four: Completing the sweep

The sweep was completed on Sunday. In a tight game, the Red Sox battled back from behind to win in extra innings. The Yankees were up 4-1 with Aroldis Chapman on the mound. However, the X-man (Xander Bogaerts), Jackie Bradley Jr.and Andrew Benintendi had other ideas. Benintendi nailed a walk-off home run for Boston to win 5-4.

How do the Red Sox look?

They look great. The sweep of the Bronx Bombers means that the Red Sox will clinch the division. With a season almost guaranteed to end with at least 100 wins, the Olde Town Team are by far the best team in baseball.

Moreover, the impressive acquisition of first baseman, Steve Pearce, could be a potential difference maker.

Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi appears to be a fantastic piece to an already bolstered pitching rotation. With the immediate return of Chris Sale, and the maintaining of pitching fitness, the Red Sox will be deadly come October.

       

And the dismal Yankees?

On the other hand, the future looks bleak for the Yankees. Firstly, #FireBoone is trending on Twitter, which isn’t a great look.

Moreover, Aaron Judge is still on the disabled list and reportedly has not yet picked up the bat with considerable pain in his wrist still present.

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Gary Sanchez is also out with injury. Struggling with a groin strain, Sanchez may not even return by the end of the month, which only furthers the extent of what could prove to be an abomination of a season for the New Yorkers.

On top of that, Gleyber Torres’ magic touch seems to have been absent in the past few weeks. For the majority of the season, Torres was a symbol of hope, especially in the ninth inning. However, after recovering from a somewhat lengthy hip injury, his production levels have significantly dropped. Particularly during this rivalry series, within which he struckout in three of four games.

The Big Picture

Finally, with the AL East crown nothing but a distant memory in theory, the Yankees are being chased down by an impeccable Oakland A’s ball club, who have a six-win hot streak at the moment. The A’s are 4 games behind the Astros, however are only 2 1/2 games behind the Yanks. The wildcard berth is definitely going to catch the attention of many this year, with three very talented teams competing for a spot.

The champagne corks have almost been popped in Boston.