The Yankees and Red Sox are set to play in London on June 29-30. Here’s an update on how both teams are faring as the historic series approaches.
Updated: June 18
THIS WEEK: JUNE 17-23
Red Sox: Face MLB-best Twins, then home vs. Blue Jays
The Red Sox entered this week leading the American League Wild Card standings with a 39-34 record, but still looking to make up ground in the AL East. They got off to a good start with a win over a tough opponent Monday, the Twins, who have baseball's best record. That was Boston's sixth win in a row.
After two more games in Minnesota, the Red Sox return home to Boston for a two-series homestand that will take them up to the London Series. The first series comes this weekend against the Blue Jays.
Star slugger J.D. Martinez also leads the AL All-Star voting at the designated hitter position. As of the ballot update released Monday, Martinez's 893,689 votes gave him a comfortable lead over the Rangers' Hunter Pence (602,766 votes). Martinez also started last year's All-Star Game for the AL at DH.
Yankees: 10-game homestand takes them to London
The Yankees returned to the Bronx this week to begin a 10-game homestand that will last until they travel to London next week. They entered the week with a 43-27 record, leading the AL East by 1/2 game over the Rays and 5 1/2 over the Red Sox.
Their first series this week is against the Rays, and the Yankees won Monday's opener to extend their division lead. Masahiro Tanaka threw a two-hit shutout and struck out 10 for New York. After two more games against Tampa Bay, the Bronx Bombers finish up the week with a four-game series against the powerhouse Astros, who lead the AL West and eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs two years ago.
The Yankees lineup is getting more dangerous by the day. The Yankees traded for Edwin Encarnacion, the AL leader in home runs, over the weekend, and he made his debut in pinstripes on Monday. On Tuesday, Giancarlo Stanton is set to return from the injured list ... and Aaron Judge might not be far behind.
WEEK OF JUNE 10-16
Red Sox: End week on five-game winning streak
A slow start to the week turned into a red-hot finish for Boston. The Red Sox lost their first two games to the Rangers at Fenway Park, but a walk-off win on Wednesday kick-started a run of five straight wins to close out the week.
The Red Sox beat the Rangers in their last two games in Boston, then went on the road and swept the Orioles at Camden Yards to finish the week. The sweep included another dominant game from ace pitcher Chris Sale, who struck out 10 batters for a fourth straight start.
That gave Sale nine games with 10 or more strikeouts this season -- all coming in his last 11 starts. He finished the week with the most double-digit strikeout games of any pitcher in the Major Leagues, one ahead of the Astros' Gerrit Cole, who has eight.
Yankees: Two series, two splits
The Yankees started their week with the first half of the 2019 Subway Series -- hosting the crosstown-rival Mets for two games in a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. The Yankees won the first game, 12-5, led by Gio Urshela, Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez, who all crushed home runs. Sanchez's homer was his 20th of the season, putting him among the American League leaders.
The Mets came back to win the nightcap of the doubleheader, thanks to their own star slugger Pete Alonso and his three-run homer off James Paxton. Still, the Yankees now hold a 70-50 regular-season record against their fellow New Yorkers since Interleague Play began in 1997, and they also defeated the Mets in the 2000 World Series.
After the Subway Series games, the Yankees traveled to Chicago for a four-game weekend series against the White Sox. The Bronx Bombers lost the first two games but came back to win the final two to end the week on a positive note.
WEEK OF JUNE 3-9
Red Sox: Sweep in KC, lose three of four to Rays at home
Boston opened the week hot, sweeping the Royals in Kansas City. The club scored at least seven runs in all three games, including an 8-0 win in Game 2 of the series.
Chris Sale was dominant in that contest, striking out 12 batters in a three-hit complete-game shutout -- his first since 2016, when he was a member of the White Sox. The start included his second immaculate inning -- three strikeouts on nine pitches in one frame -- of the 2019 season. Sale finished April with a 6.30 ERA, but since then he has recorded a 2.28 mark with 78 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings.
However, the Red Sox once again ran into trouble at Fenway Park against the Rays, losing three out of four to their AL East rivals and scoring just four runs in those three losses. After sweeping the Rays in Tampa Bay from April 19-21, Boston has dropped five of six to the club -- all at home.
Yankees: 2-4 road trip in Toronto and Cleveland
The red-hot Yanks hit the road having won nine straight series, but they lost two out of three games to the Blue Jays and then did the same against the Indians.
New York did salvage the week and maintain a first-place tie with the Rays with a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Sunday after blowing a 5-0 lead and then letting a 6-5 advantage slip away in the ninth.
The Yankees welcomed shortstop Didi Gregorius back from the injured list Friday, and the slugger went 4-for-9 with a homer during the series against the Indians in his return from Tommy John surgery.
WEEK OF MAY 27-JUNE 2
Red Sox: Back-to-back series losses vs. Indians, Yankees
Boston started the week on the right foot, defeating the Indians 12-5 at Fenway Park on Monday behind a pair of homers from J.D. Martinez and one from Sandy Leon.
However, the Red Sox dropped the final two games of their series against the Tribe and lost the first two in their series against the Yankees in the Bronx.
David Price helped the club avoid a sweep on Sunday night, allowing two runs over 6 ⅓ innings while Martinez and Xander Bogaerts both went deep for Boston in an 8-5 win.
Yankees: Two series wins vs. Padres, Red Sox
Before renewing their rivalry against the Red Sox, the Yankees took two of three from the Padres at home to start the week.
Wednesday’s game saw starter James Paxton return from the injured list to throw four hitless innings, while DJ LeMahieu, Luke Voit and Gio Urshela all homered off Padres rookie ace Chris Paddack in a 7-0 win.
After Thursday’s game against Boston was rained out, the Yanks topped the Red Sox and their ace, Chris Sale, on Friday. Boston chased starter Domingo German from Saturday’s game in the fourth inning, but New York’s bullpen combined to throw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in another win.
CC Sabathia returned from the IL to start Sunday and allowed three runs over six innings, but Boston scored five times over the seventh and eighth frames, taking advantage of right fielder Clint Frazier’s ongoing struggles on defense, to put the game away and prevent the Yanks from sweeping.
WEEK OF MAY 20-26
Red Sox: Series win vs. Jays, losses in two of three vs. Astros
The Red Sox opened the week by taking three of four games from the Blue Jays in Toronto, including a 12-2 win on Monday that saw Michael Chavis, Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers all homer.
However, for the second straight weekend, Boston lost two of three to the Astros. The Red Sox fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday, only to see the Astros earn a walk-off win on Carlos Correa’s single in the bottom of the frame.
The Red Sox did avoid a sweep with a 4-1 win on Sunday, as Eduardo Rodriguez outdueled Justin Verlander and Devers hit his fourth home run of the week. Houston is the only club to win a series against Boston in May.
Yankees: Maintain AL East lead with 6-1 week
Still battling through numerous early-season injuries to star players, the Yankees continued to thrive during a week in which they had seven games against the last-place Orioles and Royals.
The Yankees started their four-game series vs. the O’s by storming back for an impressive come-from-behind victory Monday, capped by Sanchez's tiebreaking three-run home run that gave them their first lead of the game in the ninth inning.
New York took the next three games from Baltimore and pushed its winning streak to seven games with a doubleheader sweep over the Royals on Saturday in Kansas City. The Yankees nearly made it eight straight wins after coming from behind to tie Sunday’s game on Aaron Hicks’ two-out single in the ninth, but the Royals won in walk-off fashion to snap New York’s streak.
WEEK OF MAY 13-19
Red Sox: Homestand vs. Rockies and Astros
Boston opens the week with two games against the Rockies at Fenway Park. Although Colorado has won three of its past four games, it is still just 19-21 on the year, and its pitching staff ranks 27th in the Majors with a 5.06 ERA.
After an off-day on Thursday, the Red Sox will have a much tougher test against the Astros, who are scheduled to visit Boston this weekend. Houston has won six games in a row and nine of its last 10 to move to 27-15 -- the best record in MLB.
Red Sox ace Chris Sale, who has racked up 24 strikeouts over 14 innings in his past two outings, including 14 K's last Wednesday against the O's, will start twice this week.
Yankees: Home for three games vs. Orioles and three vs. Rays
After a rainout on Monday, the Yankees will play one game against the O’s on Tuesday and two more as part of a doubleheader Wednesday. After losing two of three to Baltimore in the first series of the season, the Yankees swept a three-game set against the club from April 4-6.
Following their series with the Orioles is another showdown against the first-place Rays, whom the Yankees defeated twice in three games this past weekend in Tampa Bay.
New York will look to keep rolling despite placing third baseman Miguel Andujar on the injured list Monday for the second time this season as he continues to deal with a partial tear in his right rotator cuff. On a positive note for the Yanks, center fielder Aaron Hicks came off the IL on Monday after missing the first six-plus weeks of the season with a back injury.
WEEK OF MAY 6-12
Red Sox: Back in the hunt after five straight wins
After opening the week with a loss to the Orioles in Baltimore, the Red Sox won the next two to take the series, then returned home to sweep the Mariners.
With five consecutive victories, the Red Sox entered Tuesday just three games out of first place with a 22-19 record, marking the first time all season they have been as many as three games above .500.
Third baseman Rafael Devers has been outstanding of late, hitting .480 with four homers during Boston’s past six games.
Since they lost two games to the Rays on April 27 and 28 to fall to 11-17, the Red Sox have gone 11-2, averaging more than seven runs a game in that span and outscoring their opponents 100-37.
Yankees: Coming off key series win in Tampa Bay
After defeating the Mariners three times in a four-game series, the Yankees traveled to Tampa Bay for a crucial matchup against the first-place Rays.
The Yanks won, 4-3, on Friday night behind another solid pitching performance from Domingo German and a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning from Gio Urshela.
After losing Saturday, New York earned a series win with a 7-1 victory on Sunday as Masahiro Tanaka threw a seven-inning gem. As a result, the Yankees finished the week just a half-game behind Tampa Bay.
WEEK OF APRIL 29-MAY 5
Red Sox: Inching toward .500 record
The Red Sox had their best week of the season, sweeping the A’s in a three-game series before winning three of four games in Chicago against the White Sox. Boston was firing on all cylinders during the seven-game stretch, outscoring its opponents 55-19.
The Red Sox defeated the White Sox, 15-2, on Saturday, as the offense compiled 10 straight hits in a nine-run third inning. It marked the first time a team recorded 10 straight plate appearances with hits in the same inning since the Rockies recorded 11 on July 30, 2010. It was also the first time all nine starters got a hit and scored a run in the same inning since the Yankees did it in the first inning of a game against Baltimore on July 30, 2011. The Elias Book of Baseball Records lists 12 straight hits as the big league record, done by the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 17, 1920, and the Brooklyn Robins on June 23, 1930.
Boston ended the week with a 17-18 record, putting the team just one game shy of reaching the .500 mark for the first time since it was 1-1 on March 29.
Yankees: Bounce back vs. Twins after getting swept in Arizona
The Yankees entered last week the winners of 11 of their past 13 games, but they hit a speed bump in Arizona against the D-backs, losing both games in a two-game series. New York held Arizona to just three runs in each game, but scored only three total runs in the pair of losses.
The team found solace at home vs. the Twins, winning the series opener, 6-3, on Friday behind two long home runs from catcher Gary Sanchez. However, starter James Paxton exited the contest after three innings due to left knee inflammation and was placed on the injured list the next day. General manager Brian Cashman said the left-hander is expected to miss a maximum of three weeks.
After losing to Minnesota, 7-3, on Saturday, the Yankees closed the week on a high note with a 4-1 win over the Twins on Sunday, as starter Domingo German threw 6 2/3 strong innings.
WEEK OF APRIL 22-28
Red Sox: Ups and downs
The Red Sox entered the week of April 22 on a high note. They had just swept their division leaders, the Rays, in three straight games at Tampa Bay. But the club ran into trouble against the Tigers back in Boston. After a rainout Monday, the Red Sox played a doubleheader against Detroit on Tuesday and lost both games. They managed to split the series, though, by winning the final two games.
The Sox ended the week with a rematch against the Rays -- but this time the Rays got the upper hand, winning both games. That left the Red Sox looking up at first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Yankees: On a roll despite injuries
Injuries have been the story of the season so far for the Yankees. Even besides Judge, the Yankees are missing outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier; infielders Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius and Troy Tulowitzki; and pitchers Luis Severino and Dellin Betances. But they haven't let it stop them. Other players like starting pitchers James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka, and first baseman Luke Voit, have stepped up to help New York remain afloat.
The Yankees spent the week on a West Coast road trip. First, they played the Angels in Anaheim, where they won three out of four games. Next, they played the Giants in San Francisco and won all three games.