The Red Sox and Yankees open a weekend series in New York on Friday with Sonny Gray slated to start for Boston against Ryan Weathers for New York, and Aaron Judge sidelined for at least four to six weeks with a stress fracture in his rib.
Friday's announced lineups list Jarren Duran leading off for the Red Sox followed by Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasterio, Nick Gasper and Carlos Wong behind Gray. The Yankees counter with Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Aaron Jones, Anthony Volpe, Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells behind Weathers.
Gray arrives with one of Boston's steadiest resumes: he is 6-1 with a 3.06 ERA and has gone 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA in five starts since returning from a hamstring injury. He last pitched Saturday in Cleveland, allowing one run on four hits over six innings and taking the win. Weathers is 2-3 with a 3.52 ERA; he is facing the Red Sox for the first time, struck out 10 in his previous outing and also allowed five runs in Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Athletics.
The matchup lands with immediate stakes: the Red Sox sit in last place in the AL East, 10½ games behind the Yankees, and this is the first meeting between the clubs since Boston was swept at Fenway from April 21-23. The Red Sox are 16-14 on the road, and Friday's starter figures to be a key element for a club still searching for momentum in the division.
Judge's injury, announced Thursday, changes the Yankees' roster construction at the plate and in the outfield. He missed the previous three games against Cleveland, and New York used Jose Caballero and Max Schuemann in right field in his absence; Cody Bellinger may also see time there on occasion. That shuffle matters now: Judge is out for an extended stretch, and the Yankees will plug other pieces into the lineup across the next four to six weeks.
Boston's batting order includes one notable personal run: Contreras enters the series riding a season-high 16-game on-base streak, a streak that gives the Red Sox an internal boost even as they chase in the standings. The Yankees, by contrast, will lean on depth and matchups while Weathers tries to settle after a mixed recent turn that combined double-digit strikeouts with a five-run outing.
There are matchup wrinkles to watch beyond the starters. Gray is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees, an edge of familiarity on both sides despite Weathers facing Boston for the first time. Lineup construction in Judge's absence — plus the way managers deploy Bellinger, Grisham and occasional outfield fill-ins — will shape run production and defensive alignment throughout the series.
Friday's first pitch will answer immediate questions about the starters and lineups, but the larger unanswered issue is how the Yankees replace Judge's production over the next four to six weeks and whether Boston can use the vacancy to close the 10½-game gap in the AL East.
