All Time Rivalry Missing Big Names
Photo by Jim Davis (Boston Globe, Getty Images)
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees’ rivalry is a tale as old as time. This weekend is going to put this on full display with a three-game set in the Bronx. Both teams however will be missing big names for this series. For the Red Sox they are losing one of their top pitchers Chris Sale. While Sale had missed last year with multiple injuries (his wrist and back) after following his Tommy John surgery in early 2020. Sale had been making a pretty convincing come back to the game of baseball in 2023. While he was not at his “ace” level of pitching this year Sale had a decent start sporting a 4.58 ERA through his first 11 starts. However, during his most recent start against the Cincinnati Reds Sale was pulled from the game after only finishing 3.2 innings. Right before the Red Sox arrived in New York for their weekend series the team announced that Chris Sale was put on the 60-day IL with a stress fracture in his shoulder.
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On the opposing side of the series, the Yankees lost last year’s AL MVP Aaron Judge. During the Yankees west coast trip this past week Judge was putting his reigning MVP caliber potential on full display. During Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Judge was playing right field when former Red Sox J.D. Martinez hit a line shot towards the right field wall. Judge, running full speed, makes an outrageous catch last second before crashing into the bullpen fence in right. Typically there for padding and made to be “bouncy” so players do not get injured, the fence did not hold up against 6’7 Aaron Judge. He would stay in to finish the game that night but would be held out of the lineup for the next few games. On June 4th, the Yankees placed Judge on the 10-day IL with a right great toe sprain. This is a big blow to this Yankee lineup due to Judge seeming not to miss a beat from his MVP campaign last season. With this rivalry series on the horizon, the Red Sox and Yankees both look to get back on track coming from disappointing previous series.
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