The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are the two best teams in baseball, and there is every chance that they will remain in that position throughout the 2018 season.
The Red Sox served notice when they got out of the gate with a 17-2 mark, and the Yankees have responded with a 15-1 streak of their own.
The Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, while the Red Sox have J.D. Martinez in the middle of the lineup. Both teams have explosive hitting attacks, and the Red Sox have regained their ability to hit home runs after a poor year in that area in 2017.
Mookie Betts (.355/.434/.818) is Boston's MVP candidate, while Didi Gregorius (.311/.399/.664) mans the same role for the Yankees. Both teams can overpower pitching staffs on a regular basis.
MORE: Yanks, Red Sox Bring Two Best Records Into Fight For First Place
And as good as both teams are, there have been a couple of defensive deficiencies. Gary Sanchez is a brutal defensive catcher. He may have one of the best bats at the position as well as a remarkable throwing arm, but passed balls and wild pitches are his specialty.
Eduardo Nunez gave the Red Sox a lift last summer when he came over from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline, but he turns every ground ball into an adventure while he fills in for Dustin Pedroia at second base.
As the two teams get ready to start their three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, baseball fans are in for a treat. Not only how these three games will turn out -- a series in early May can set a tone – but how the battle will play out through the summer.
These two teams will pay lip service to the full season and their other competitors, but they know that the 2018 baseball season is all about Boston vs. New York.
The key to this seasonlong battle will be what it always is – pitching. While that part of baseball has changed dramatically and continues to do so, the prediction here is that the team with the better pitching will come out on top in the American League East and have the best chance of winning the World Series.
Starting pitching is not the be all, end all it used to be. Managers Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Aaron Boone of the Yankees are not looking for eight-inning efforts or complete games from their starters. It's only about going through the lineup effectively two times and then coming out of the game at the first sign of trouble the third trip through the lineup.
Chris Sale is a given for the Red Sox – at least until mid-August. Rick Porcello appears to have returned to form after a down year in 2017. However, David Price has been vulnerable for the Red Sox.
After a couple of sharp starts early in the season, Price has a 2-4 record and 5.11 earned-run average. He has struck out 32 batters in 37 inning, but he has also walked 16 in that same time frame. He has a 1.41 WHIP, and he is vulnerable.
While veteran CC Sabathia could be done in by knee problems or age at any time, he continues to trot out to the mound and take his turn. Luis Severino is the ace of the staff, and while he is not Sale, he can dominate. Domingo German has given the Yankees an excellent lift to this point, and Masahiro Tanaka needs to do better than he has with a 4.39 ERA.
The Red Sox have gotten good work from relievers Joe Kelly, Craig Kimbrel and Matt Barnes, but neither Kelly nor Barnes are sure things. It would not be a surprise to see the Yankees get after either of them.
If the Yankees have a significant advantage anywhere in this matchup, it's in the bullpen. While Boston's relievers have been effective to this point, the Yankees have more strength in this area with Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Tommy Kahnle.
Chapman has seven saves, a 1.80 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He has struck out 30 batters in 15 innings with just five walks, and he has not given up a home run this year. Are you listening Rafael Devers? (Devers took Chapman deep last year in a memorable at-bat before incredulous fans at Yankee Stadium.)
Robertson has a 3.12 ERA, but he also has the same 0.87 WHIP as Chapman. Betances and Kahnle are at 1.57 and 1.64 WHIP, respectively, but both are capable of making sure those numbers get to a dominating level.
The belief here is that the Yankees' bullpen could reach untouchable status at any time, while the Red Sox pen – particularly Kelly and Barnes – will get lit up.
The Red Sox won't fall apart in the pen, but when they are facing an excellent opponent like the Yankees or solid hitting teams like Houston, Cleveland or Toronto, that's when their vulnerability will show.
It could come in an interesting early-May series in the Bronx.
Stay tuned.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @Profootballboy
