Yankees Surge Past Slumping Red Sox In Power Rankings

They say opposites attract and that's certainly true on Thursday when the red-hot New York Yankees open a four-game series with the slumping Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees enjoy a 1 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card standings. New York also sits ahead of Boston in ESPN's latest MLB Power Rankings. The Yankees moved from No. 12 to No. 8 while the Red Sox fell from No. 10 to No. 11.

"The Yankees are scariest with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both in the lineup -- just look at Tuesday's home run barrage in Tampa," ESPN's Jorge Castillo wrote Thursday. "But that won't happen every day until Judge recovers enough from his flexor strain to be cleared to return to the outfield. When that will happen remains unclear. Judge increased his throwing to 150 feet this week, which qualifies as a positive development, but a return date to right field has not been publicly set.

"For now, Judge is the Yankees' every-day designated hitter, which means Stanton, who is 35 and doesn't move well, has to play right field to be in the lineup," Castillo added. "The Yankees are making it work, but getting Judge cleared to play the outfield -- even just occasionally, if not every day -- could make a significant difference."

The Yankees' bats couldn't be hotter. They slugged 14 home runs in their last two games, a pair of wins over the Tampa Bay Rays. As a result, New York tied a major-league record for most homers in a two-game series.