The Athletic: Eno Sarris ($): The Yanks and Sox kicked off the latest iteration of their storied rivalry Friday night in Boston. Heading into the weekend, Sarris takes a look at the tale of the tape between the two clubs, analyzing five things that could tilt the series. The good news? He gives the Yanks the advantage when it comes to starting pitching and hitting for power. Hitting for contact is a wash between the two clubs. Defense and the bullpen? I don’t wanna talk about it. Hopefully neither
of those rear up and bite the Yanks in the keister this weekend.
Newsweek | Jackson Roberts: Wayne Gretzky famously said “you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” File this piece under that category. Jon Heyman reports that New York called Pittsburgh at the deadline to discuss Paul Skenes. Everything was apparently on the table when it came to available prospects, namely George Lombard, Jr. and Spencer Jones. In the least stunning development ever, the Pirates opted not to trade one of the faces of baseball. What is surprising is that, according to Heyman, only a handful of teams bothered to check in with the Pirates regarding their superstar ace.
Sports Illustrated: Delilah Bourque: Thursday night, Aaron Judge clubbed the 360th and 361st home runs of his incredible career, tying him with Joe DiMaggio for fifth on the Yankees all-time home run leaderboard. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton obliterated a ball of his own, giving him 20 home runs in an injury-abbreviated campaign. The two of them going yard in the same game marked the 56th time that’s happened, good for ninth-most all-time. Another Yankee duo sits at 56, namely Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. If Judge and Stanton can do it 21 more times, they’ll sit alone in first place. Eddie Matthews and Hank Aaron currently hold that distinction, having homered in the same game 76 times.
