Red Sox at Yankees Game 1 lineup: Happy Sale day?

The Red Sox (59-52) play the first game of a doubleheader against the Yankees (way better) this afternoon at 1 p.m. behind purported ace Chris Sale in what could end up as the defining day of the season, narratively, especially if New York is able to win both contests. If the Sox manage to win them both, well... they’ll have erased some of the damage of the last few days, but first things first, gotta win this afternoon.

The bright side with any game against the Yankees it that their pitching isn’t great, and Sale, even when struggling, is still Chris Sale. That said, the Domingo Germán is starting for the Yankees and has put up basically the same numbers as ‘our’ ace, but a little worse. Certainly in the category where you can expect it to go either way, which is why they play the games (well that and the money they make).

Anyhow, perhaps reflecting the urgency of the situation, the Red Sox lineup is at full strength for Game 1, with nobody notable sitting out this afternoon. That it’s already all-hands-on-deck is disappointing, but was inevitable — these Yankees and Rays teams have been building for years, in plain sight. I just wish the Red Sox could give them a taste of that 2018 thumping so ‘we’ could all have it out, and to show them I’m serious, the Yankees can have two tastes today!