The Yankees announced Thursday that J.A. Happ would start against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS Friday in Boston.
The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at Fenway Park Friday. Happ will be opposed by Chris Sale, who is looking forward to this much-anticipated series.
"It's fun. What else do you want? You got the Yankees and Red Sox in the playoffs playing each other...one of the biggest rivalries in sports ever. It's what we signed up for," Sale said Thursday.
Happ was sensational in his 11 starts with the Yankees after being traded from the Blue Jays. He was 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings.
Sale battled shoulder inflammation and hasn't pitched five or more innings since Aug. 12. The Red Sox didn't pitch Sale much in September as they wanted to prepare him for October. Sale finished the season 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA in 27 starts, striking out 237 in 158 innings.
Neither Happ or Sale were in the big leagues when the Yankees and Red Sox met last in the playoffs a classic ALCS, but Sale knows all about it.
"Obviously looking back it's a lot of passion, a lot of heated rivalries. It's part of the build up with this," Sale said Thursday. "I know you guys like to make a big deal of it because what has happened in the past and obviously earlier this year and all that. You got two big time teams that played really good baseball throughout the regular season about to go head-to-head in the most important time of the year. If you can't get excited for that, I think you're doing the wrong thing."
Alex Cora knows all about that series and this rivalry better than any of these guys, considering he was in the big leagues those years and won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2007.
"I was looking forward to the playoffs regardless of who we play. I've been lucky enough to play in rivalries. It's fun," Cora said to the media Thursday. "As far as the fan bases, they are looking forward to this. It should be fun. I got a taste last year with them. That stadium was loud. It was fun to play there. It should be fun to play in Yankee Stadium. They are playing great. They swung the bats well. From that series, we didn't get too much out of it. We play these guys so much. We are pretty familiar what they do. There's no secrets. Whoever plays defense, executes pitches, and gets clutch hits will win the series."