Yankees vs. Red Sox series preview: What to know as AL East rivalry opens in 2026, plus a prediction

Luis Gil and Connelly Early kick off the three-game set on Tuesday in Boston

Mike Axisa

Apr 21, 2026

2:43 pm ET

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7 min read

Getty Images

This week at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will renew their rivalry for the first time in 2026. The Red Sox won the season series convincingly last year (9-5), but the Yankees got the last laugh in the Wild Card Series. They won the series in three games and became the first team to come back and win the Wild Card Series after losing Game 1.

"Every one is a big one for us," Red Sox catcher and former Yankees prospect Carlos Narváez told MassLive.com following Monday's win (BOS 8, DET 6). "Especially right now, but we've got a big one coming up (against the Yankees)."

The Yankees, despite a recent skid, enter this series with the American League's best record at 13-9. The Red Sox are 9-13 and in the AL East cellar at the moment. These two teams have a fairly front-loaded head-to-head schedule this year, and will see each other twice more before the All-Star break: June 5-7 in New York and June 25-28 in Boston.

Here are the details for this week's three-game series in Boston. Select games can be streamed regionally on fubo (try for free).

DateStart timeStarting pitchersTVTues., April 21

6:45 p.m. ET

RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 7.00) vs. LHP Connelly Early (1-0, 2.29)

NESN+, YES, TBS

Weds., April 22

6:45 p.m. ET

LHP Max Fried (2-1, 2.97) vs. LHP Ranger Suárez (1-1, 3.22)

NESN, Amazon Prime, MLBN

Thurs., April 23

6:10 p.m. ET

RHP Cam Schlittler (2-1, 1.95) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (1-2, 6.75)

NESN+, YES, FS1

On paper, the Yankees have the starting pitching advantage in two of the three games, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. Teams win games while being at the starting pitching disadvantage all the time, especially at Fenway Park, where weird things happen and odd bounces become extra-base hits. It certainly makes for entertaining baseball, especially when these two teams are involved.

Here now are four things to know going into this week's Yankees vs. Red Sox series in Boston, with a prediction thrown in because why not?

Schlittler says he's still receiving threats

Schlittler, a Massachusetts native, dominated the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last year, firing eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and zero walks. After that game, Schlittler said it had become "personal" because Red Sox fans attacked him and his family online prior to Game 3. Schlittler ended the Red Sox's season, then fired back on social media afterward:

> Drinking dat dirty water

— Cam (@Cam31Schlittler) October 3, 2025

Unfortunately, the personal attacks continue. Earlier this week, Schlittler told the New York Post he has received "some messages out there that are pretty unreal," including "death threats." He does not feel the messages have risen to the point that he has to get the authorities involved, however. For now, Schlittler's calling it trash talk that is starting to go too far.

"It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be bad," Schlittler told the New York Post when asked what he expects during Thursday's start. "I'm not nervous about it, but it's gonna be loud. They're gonna probably have dudes that are my age or a little bit younger, sitting right outside the bullpen yelling, whatever, probably throwing stuff at me, trying to grab me. That's kind of what I expect. So I know the guys are excited for it and I'm excited for it."

They're on opposite ends of the power spectrum

Power was a concern for the Red Sox coming into the season and things have certainly played out that way on the field. They've hit 13 home runs in 22 games, tied for the fewest in baseball with the San Francisco Giants. Willson Contreras leads the team with four home runs. Only seven Red Sox players have gone deep in 2026, and four of the seven have exactly one home run.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are third in baseball with 32 home runs in 22 games. Aaron Judge (nine) and Ben Rice (eight) are second and third in baseball in home runs and have out-homered the Red Sox by themselves, and not by a little either. Three other Yankees (Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Amed Rosario) have at least three home runs as well.

There is more to life than home runs, though it is more difficult to score when you have to string together multiple base hits and walks in an inning to scratch out a run. The difference in power between these two teams shows up in their total offense:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: 6.05 runs per game

2. Atlanta Braves: 5.70 runs per game

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9. Yankees: 5.00 runs per game

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MLB average: 4.46 runs per game

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20. Red Sox: 4.05 runs per game

The Red Sox have actually had a harder time scoring runs at home in the early going this year. They've averaged 3.90 runs in their 10 home games, versus 4.17 runs in their 12 road games. That's a tiny sample though