Red Sox set to return to Yankee Stadium for 1st time since AL Wild Card Series

The last time the Red Sox (26-35) were at Yankee Stadium, a trip to the American League Division Series was on the line. This time, with 10 1/2 games separating the rivals in the standings, the Red Sox are hoping to just find a spark in the Bronx.

If that prospect sounds far-fetched, consider this: Nearly a year ago, on June 7, 2025, the Red Sox were 10 1/2 games back of the Yankees. That night, they earned a hard-fought win, jumpstarting a 10-2 run (and a 59-38 stretch to end the season).

The Yankees (37-25) enter with the second-best record in the American League. They also have a five-game winning streak against the Red Sox, after taking the final two games of last October’s series and sweeping a three-game set at Fenway Park in April.

Here are the pitching matchups and key storylines to watch as the rivals face off this weekend:

Pitching Matchups

Friday: 7:05 p.m. ET
Watch: YES, NESN
Probables: RHP Sonny Gray vs. LHP Ryan Weathers

Gray will take the Yankee Stadium mound for just the second time since his days in pinstripes. His first start back as a visiting player came on Sept. 8, 2022, with the Twins, when he tossed six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) in a no-decision. The 36-year-old has arguably been Boston’s most reliable starter of late, pitching to a 4-0 record and 2.00 ERA over his past five outings. However, all four of those wins came against teams ranked in the Majors’ bottom third in runs per game.

Weathers was bitten by the long ball his last time out in West Sacramento, allowing homers to the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz – all via the four-seam fastball. Weathers has now surrendered eight homers on his four-seamer, tied for second-most this season against any pitch by a left-hander in the Majors. Luckily for the lefty, the Red Sox rank last in the Majors with 12 homers against four-seam fastballs. But the three members of the Red Sox position player corps who have faced Weathers before – Willson Contreras, Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa – all have a homer to their credit against him.

Saturday: 7:35 p.m. ET
Watch: FOX
Probables: LHP Ranger Suarez vs. RHP Will Warren
Suarez will look to right the ship coming off a pair of rough outings. The southpaw allowed five runs in a loss to Atlanta on May 26 and four runs in Cleveland on May 31. Prior to those two starts, Suarez had a 1.12 ERA dating back to April 11, with his only clunker during that stretch coming against the Yankees on April 22, when he allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Warren is quietly putting together a stellar season for New York. His last time out against the A’s, Warren allowed three unearned runs in six innings, marking his 10th start allowing two earned runs or fewer (second-most in the AL behind Nick Martinez, who has 11 such starts). But Warren is yet to solve the Red Sox. The 26-year-old holds a 9.42 ERA in three career starts against Boston, with the most recent including a six-run scalding in the first inning.

Sunday: 1:35 p.m. ET
Watch: YES, NESN
Probables: LHP Connelly Early vs. RHP Cam Schlittler
The third game of this series looks a lot like the fateful third game of the 2025 AL Wild Card Series, with the 24-year-old Early and 25-year-old Schlittler set to battle.

How good has Schlittler been against his former favorite team? Since 2020, including the postseason, there have only been five starts of eight or more innings pitched and one or no earned runs allowed by a right-hander facing the Red Sox. Two of those five starts belong to Schlittler.

Last October, the Walpole, Mass., native arrived on the national stage with a 12-strikeout performance as a rookie. This April, Schlittler dazzled in his first start at Fenway, improving to 2-0 lifetime against the Red Sox.

Like Schlittler, Early has now pitched twice in the rivalry – but he’s still seeking his first win. Early took his second loss against the Yankees on April 21 after allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings. He received votes in MLB.com’s most recent Rookie of the Year poll, along with fellow Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle.

Key storylines to watch

• The Yankees enter with 89 homers (1st in the Majors), while the Red Sox enter with 45 homers (29th in the Majors). How can we put this power discrepancy in perspective? If you removed the contributions of the Yankees' three most prolific home run hitters -- Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger -- they would still have two more homers than the Red Sox.

• New York’s captain has missed three straight games entering Friday. If Judge is unavailable during the series, it would mark the first Yankees-Red Sox matchup without the three-time MVP since June 18, 2023. Dating back to 2017, the Yankees are 71-49 vs. the Red Sox in games when Judge plays. They're 12-15 vs. the Red Sox during that span in games when Judge doesn't play.

• Contreras has been on an absolute tear, slashing .417/.478/.733 over his past 16 games. The last swing Contreras took entering Friday resulted in a laser over the Green Monster, traveling a Statcast-projected 403 feet.

• On Thursday afternoon, the Red Sox promoted right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle, who spent six seasons with the Yankees across two separate stints (2017-20, 2023-24). The 36-year-old made his Red Sox debut with a pair of scoreless innings against the Orioles on Thursday. Kahnle triggered his June 1 opt-out clause, meaning he would have entered free agency if Boston hadn’t selected his contract.