Aug 20, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Yankees Must be Perfect vs. Red Sox

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Delilah Bourque | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The New York Yankees are finally closer to where they want to be: the top of the AL East. However, it's been a rocky journey. The Pinstripes has a dominant start to this season, but two months of disappointing play had them clinging to their spot in the AL Wild Card. Now, they have to be absolutely perfect to defeat the Boston Red Sox and stay towards the top.

While the Yankees were able to move past another division foe, the Tampa Bay Rays, in their last two games, not everything went according to plan. In the ninth inning of the second game, New York was up by two runs when trade deadline addition David Bednar took the mound. While Bednar has had an impressive run this season — though he was a bit more consistent with his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates — he gave up two runs in the ninth to tie the game up.

Fortunately for the Bronx Bombers, they lived up to their name. Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton pinch hit for infielder Ryan McMahon and slammed a homer to left field with shortstop Anthony Volpe on base, followed by another home run from catcher Austin Wells. The Yankees regained their lead and, despite giving up a run in the bottom of the tenth, closer Devin Williams locked things up with his first save since the team's last series against the Rays.

Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Against the Red Sox, relying on home runs is not going to be enough. Of course, Cam Schlittler's near-perfect 6.2 innings helped the Yankees take down the Rays, but the Pinstripes have had a real difficulty getting batters on base all season. With Aaron Judge still recovering from injury and Giancarlo Stanton needing extra rest to avoid exacerbating existing injuries, New York can't take any chances.

Boston has been a major thorn in the Yankees' side this season, winning four of five contests thus far. The Red Sox are also in pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot and trying to surpass the Toronto Blue Jays for command of the division. The Yankees should expect them to bring their A-game and can't afford to make sloppy decisions these next four games. The pressure is on.

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