The Age-Old Rivalry

That storied rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox appears once again to be in full flower.

With Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Red Sox, the Yankees moved into a first-place tie with their longtime antagonists in the American League. The Red Sox roared out to a 17-2 start this season, but the Yankees have now won seven straight and 16 of 17. Both are 25-10.

Giancarlo Stanton, the designated hitter, launched a pair of solo home runs for the Yankees, and four New York pitchers combined to strike out 14 while not walking a batter.

The pitching has been a strength to this point and that’s a good thing, as the Yankees are winning without the sort of full participation at the plate one might expect. Stanton is batting only .237. Catcher Gary Sanchez is hitting .193. Left fielder and leadoff batter Brett Gardner checks in at .198.

The Yankees and Red Sox meet again on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. The one constant with these two teams – they cannot play a game in a reasonable amount of time. The average MLB game in 2017: 3 hours, 5 minutes. The Red Sox-Yankees game? 3 hours, 29 minutes.

CANADIAN NO-HITTER: The Seattle Mariners’ James Paxton became the first Canadian to pitch a no-hitter in Canada when he beat the Blue Jays 5-0 in Toronto on Tuesday night. Dick Fowler of the 1945 Philadelphia Athletics is the only other Canadian to pitch a no-hitter. Paxton is from Ladner, British Columbia, and has a tattoo of a maple leaf on his right forearm. … Also, the Washington Nationals’ Jeremy Hellickson took a perfect game into the seventh inning Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres before giving up a pair of hits. … On the other end of the spectrum, the Baltimore Orioles’ Dylan Bundy became the first pitcher in modern history to give up four home runs without recording an out. “I was leaving pitches right down the middle and they were hitting them over the fence,” Bundy said. Keen grasp of reality, son. He got out none of the seven Kansas City Royals hitters he faced – he gave up five hits and walked two – and allowed seven earned runs in a 10-run first inning. The Royals won 15-7. The Orioles have lost seven straight and are, at 8-27, the worst team in baseball.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman