Yankees, Red Sox Play for Seeding in Fenway Series

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox begin a three-game, season-closing series at Fenway Park this weekend with playoff positioning and a likely October rematch on the line. The Yankees enter having all but clinched a postseason berth, while the Red Sox hold the season-series tiebreaker and will send what their rotation calls a best three of Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet to the mound, giving the rivalry fresh urgency with roughly two weeks remaining before the playoffs.

The series has immediate seeding implications. Toronto still leads the American League East, but the Yankees sit within striking distance of the division and are competing with Boston for top wild-card placement. The club sending the top wild-card team will host a best-of-three Wild Card Series, and Boston’s season-series advantage with New York could determine home-field status if the teams finish level, analysts said. Both clubs enter the weekend with playoff probabilities above 95 percent, according to Fangraphs projections.

On the field, the matchups are close but contrasted by clear strengths and weaknesses. Projections and season-long numbers favor New York’s starting staff overall,...