Yankees latest series against Boston proves anything can happen

The Yankees took two out of three games from the Red Sox, but the uncompetitive series proved that the rivalry continues to defy expectations.

The deeper we get into the season, the more critical each Yankees vs. Red Sox game gets. By October, the winner of the AL East will dodge the dreaded one-game Wild Card Game. The loser will likely face James Paxton or some other ace pitcher in the win-or-go-home contest. So, each time the Bombers face the Red Sox, the urgency steadily rises.

This past weekend (June 29-July 2) the Yanks, with a now 31-13 home record that leads the MLB, hosted the Sox. Before the first pitch on June 29, The Stadium atmosphere felt like that of an October night. Then, the Yankees went out and beat Boston 8-1, which foreshadowed the results of the next two nights.

Fans want the quality of these Yankees-Red Sox games to match their playoff-like nature. Whether that means walk-offs or memorable performances, fans want to see competitive games. That’s not what they got.

Game 2 on July 1 was particularly rough; Boston handed the Yankees an 11-0 drubbing. Then the Yanks returned the favor one day later, beating Boston 11-1 on Sunday Night Baseball.

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Sure, on some level, fans of each team may have loved seeing their rivals dominated. But it’s fair to argue that this most recent series failed to live up to expectations, which, according to ESPN, Red Sox Manager Alex Cora hinted at.

"It’s going to be a dogfight. We have a good team, they have a good team,’ Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. ‘A weird series, honestly. It was very weird. Weird games."

You may ask, “so what? What’s the point?” The biggest takeaway from last weekend’s series is a reminder that, every time we come to expect anything in baseball, it’s likely to get turned on its head.

The Yanks-Sox rivalry is no different. These two teams have proven who they are in the first half; for the Yankees, their identity is largely founded on an offense that bashes home runs like they’re going out of style (which they’re not). That could very well change (several times) by season’s end.

Next: Some fans view recent Red Sox series differently

It’s tempting to consider the Yankees series victory as a sign that New York is “better” than Boston at this point, and that the standings will reflect that by the end of September. In reality, nobody knows, or can really predict what’ll happen. It’s just the nature of baseball, this wonderful, unpredictable sport that we love.