The Red Sox and Yankees have the two best records in the MLB as of May 25th. The Red Sox who stand at 34-16 are 3 games ahead of the Yankees who have a record of 31-15. Both teams have serious power with their lumber and high potential when it comes to getting the job done behind the plate. Both teams arguably have the two best starting lineups in all of baseball with combinations of power and precision all throughout each order. 

Starting with the Red Sox, who, as of May 25th, have the best record in all of baseball. Leading off is the Sox right fielder Mookie Betts who leads the majors in hits (64), home runs (16) and batting average (.362). Brett Gardner, the Yankees leadoff hitter has 37 hits, 1 home run and is batting .233 is no where close to Mookie Betts. Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi who follows Mookie Betts has had a decent start to his 2018 season with 49 hits, 5 home runs and a batting average of .277. While it is only Benintendi’s second season in the MLB, he has continued to develop as a young ball player and has a lot of unlocked potential. Second in the Yankee lineup is right fielder Aaron Judge who has taken the MLB by storm the past two seasons. The Yankees right fielder has had a solid start to his 2018 season with 50 hits, 13 home runs and a batting average of .284. While Judge only has 13 home runs as of May 25th, fans should not be surprised if that number quickly reaches 20 by early June. The Red Sox first baseman, Hanley Ramirez has just been DFA’d by the Red Sox. This decision comes with the return of 2B Dustin Pedroia who is expected to make his season debut this weekend against the Atlanta Braves after an offseason knee surgery. Although the DH has had a reasonable start to his 2018 season with 45 hits, 6 home runs and a batting average of .245, the Red Sox needed to make this move to save some serious money and free up a roster spot for Pedroia. Next, 3rd in the Yanks lineup is shortstop Didi Gregorius, a versatile player with an insane work ethic. The smooth swinging lefty has 41 hits, 11 home runs and is hitting 246 through the beginning of his 2018 season. If the Yankees are going to have a chance in making a big run this postseason, Didi is going to have to really step up his game and take charge of that ballclub. The 4th player in the Red Sox is one of the best power hitters in al of MLB, DH J.D. Martinez. Martinez who was acquired in an offseason signing has drastically improved the Red Sox starting lineup. He has exploded during his 2018 start with 61 hits, 15 home runs and a .328 batting average. Martinez has come up clutch in so many situations this year when the Red Sox needed him most. For the Yankees, left fielder Giancarlo Stanton is 4th in their lineup who was signed in the offseason after his contract expired in Miami. Stanton who has gotten his season off to a nice start with 48 hits, 11 home runs and a batting average of .262 is only just getting started. Last year, Stanton ended with an MLB leading 59 home runs. Stanton still has a shot at beating his season output from last year. Moving on to the 5 hitter in the Red Sox lineups brings up the shortstop, Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts, who was mashing the ball in his first 6 games as slowed down over the past month. His last 7 days have been rough while he only has 2 hits, 0 home runs and is batting .111. His entire season consists 38 hits, 6 home runs and a batting average of .286. Bogaerts needs to get back to where he started the season in order to give his team the best chance to keep winning games. For the bombers, catcher Gerry Sanchez is in the 5 spot. Currently, Sanchez is not exactly where the Yankees want him to be. While dealing with calf soreness, Sanchez has started his season with 434 hits, 12 home runs and a betting average of .228. The Yankees need to find a way to get their star catcher to produce more than he is right now in efforts to move up to the top of the AL east. The 6 hitter in the Red Sox lineup is Rafael Devers. Devers in his second year of MLB play is still inexperienced and has not made the plays an older third baseman would make understandably. While these mistakes are not such a big deal this early in his career he needs to continue to develop into a smart third baseman who the Sox can count on whenever they need to. Devers who has had an ok start to 2018 with 44 hits, 9 home runs and a betting average of .272 has loads of potential with the Red Sox. The Pinstripers’ 6 hitter is center fielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks, who has gotten off to a tough start in 2018 with 31 hits, 5 home runs and a betting average of .254 continues to make a positive impact on his team in center field making hard catches look like routine fly balls. Hicks is very close to returning where he left off in 2017. For the next day, the The 7 hitter for Boston will be Eduardo Nunez. Nunez who is struggling both offensive and defensively in 2018 with 43 hits, 3 home runs and an average of .249 will be taken out of the Red Sox lineup for 2B Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia will return to the lineup on Friday, May 25th against the Braves at Fenway Park. As for the Yankees, their 7 hitter is third baseman, Miguel Andujar. Andujar who is 45-156 with 5 home runs and an average of .288 is developing into a solid third baseman. The 8 hitter for the Sox is center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. JBJ who continues to struggle at the plate in 2018 with 24 hits, 2 home runs and a low batting average of .174 needs to get himself together and turn his season around. As it is only May, it is important that JBJ fixes what needs to be fixed sooner rather than later because the Red Sox need production out of their starting center fielder. As for the Yankees their number 8 hitter is 2 second baseman, Gleyber Torres. The Yankees rookie phenom has been swinging a hot bat the past few weeks. Torres who has 30 hits, 8 home runs and is batting .323 gives Yankees fans something to get excited about other than their power hitting right fielder, Aaron Judge. If Torres can continue of even better his output from this season the Yankees will be very pleased with their starting second baseman. Last in the Red Sox lineup is catcher Christian Vasquez. Vasquez who has a laser of an arm has beat out Sandy Leon for the Sox starting job at catcher. Even though Vazquez only has 24 hits, 0 home runs and a .195 batting average he continues to hose guys down on the bases and block wild pitches to save important runs. The number 9 hitter for the Bronx Bombers is shortstop Ronald Torreyes. Torreyes who splits playing time with Austin Romine has 21 hits, 0 home runs and is batting 339 will continue to be used as a utility player unless something significantly changes in the Yankees organization. 

Both the Red Sox and the Yankees have stacked lineups and continue to mash the ball night after night. After all is said and done, who will have the better record and more importantly, who will advance to the World Series?