All you need to know about Yankees v Red Sox on BBC
Aaron Judge's 52nd home run of the season ensured the Yankees won the second game of their current four-game series with the Red Sox
- Published
Major League Baseball returns to the BBC on Sunday as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox renew one of the oldest, fiercest and most iconic rivalries in sport.
Their latest meeting could also have big implications for their post-season prospects as the play-off race hots up.
The match at Yankee Stadium is the first of five live MLB broadcasts on BBC Sport over the next four weeks, covering the end of the regular season and the start of the play-offs.
You can watch all Sunday's action unfold on the iPlayer, plus the BBC Sport website and app, from 18:30 BST, with coverage beginning on the Red Button at 19:30.
How did the rivalry start?
Babe Ruth won three World Series with the Red Sox, then four with the Yankees
Just 215 miles apart, New York and Boston are home to two of the most successful sides in Major League Baseball.
The Yankees have won the sport's top prize - the World Series - more times than any other franchise (27), while the Red Sox are the third most decorated team with nine championships.
The two teams first played one another in 1903 but the rivalry gained serious traction when baseball's greatest-ever player, Babe Ruth, was controversially sold to the Yankees by the Red Sox in 1919.
The Red Sox, who had won three World Series titles with Ruth in the side, had to then watch the New York side dominate the sport for most of the 20th century.
The era popularised the 'Curse of the Bambino' - a reference to Ruth’s nickname and a superstition Red Sox fans would carry until they finally won the World Series again in 2004, ending an 86-year wait.
Their most recent championship was 2018, while the Yankees have not won one since 2009.
Stats and standings
'There it goes!' Judge breaks American League record with 62nd home run
The Yankees sit top of the American League standings with an 86-62 record after Friday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
Aaron Judge secured the victory with his 52nd home run of the season. That is the most in Major League Baseball, with team-mate Juan Soto (39) fourth.
Judge is favourite to be named the AL's Most Valuable Player for a second time having also won in 2022 - when he set a new AL record for most home runs in a season (62).
Tyler O'Neill (30) and Rafael Devers (28) have hit the most homers for the Red Sox, who are 74-74 and battling to earn a play-off spot.
The Yankees and Red Sox both play in the AL East division, and with the Yankees hoping to hold off the Baltimore Orioles for a guaranteed spot in the post-season, the Red Sox aim to earn one of the three wildcard spots.
The play-offs are set to begin on 1 October, with three rounds played to decide who meets in the World Series (scheduled to start on 25 October).
Head-to-head record
Sunday's game will be the last in a four-match series which began on Thursday, with the Yankees winning the first two meetings - 2-1 and 5-4.
Going in to Saturday's match-up, the old rivals will have met 2,311 times - the Yankees winning 1,258 and the Red Sox 1,039, with 14 ties.
Their rivalry includes two high-scoring games in London in 2019, both won by the Yankees.
From their 12 meetings so far this season, the Yankees have a 6-6 record having won four of the last five meetings.
How to watch MLB on the BBC
Sunday's game at Yankee Stadium will be shown live on the BBC from 18:30 BST.
You can watch it on BBC iPlayer, plus the BBC Sport website and app, with coverage beginning on the Red Button from 19:30.
It is the first of five live MLB broadcasts on BBC Sport over the next four weeks, covering the end of the regular season and the start of the play-offs.
BBC's upcoming MLB schedule:
Sunday, 22 September (from 18:30): Baltimore Orioles v Detroit Tigers
Sunday, 29 September (20:00): Coverage of the final day of the MLB regular season
Tuesday, 1 October (time TBC): Two Wildcard Series games
Saturday, 5 October (time TBC): Two Division Series games