Red Sox Weekend Warmup: Will Young Studs Step Up (Again) Vs. Yankees?

The Red Sox and Yankees will square off for the second weekend in a row.

This time, they'll battle in Boston, marking the bitter rivals' first head-to-head matchup at Fenway Park this season.

The Red Sox took two of three from the Yankees last weekend in New York. It was a tightly contested series, with Boston's victories each decided by one run and its lone loss decided by a pair.

It's probably hyperbolic to say there was a playoff feel in the Bronx, with the Red Sox teetering around .500, but the series definitely offered a reminder of how intense the rivalry can be whenever the American League East foes lock horns.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, their step forward immediately preceded a step backward, as the Colorado Rockies took two of three from Boston at Fenway Park this week.

The Red Sox enter the weekend with a 34-35 record, 14 1/2 games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays and five games back of the AL's third wild-card spot.

Red Sox odds (June 16)*
To win World Series: +13000
To win American League: +6000
To win AL East: +20000
To make playoffs: +680

It's wild to see the Red Sox with better odds to win the World Series than their own division. Such is life when you share a division with the Rays (50-22), owners of the best record in Major League Baseball, and three other teams at least six games above .500. Boston's best path to the postseason clearly is the wild card.

Even that might prove difficult given the hole the Red Sox have dug themselves through two-plus months. But the long odds certainly present a buying opportunity if you have faith in Boston's ability to reach the playoffs.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Probable pitchers
-- Friday, June 16 (7:10 p.m. ET vs. Yankees): Tanner Houck, RHP (3-6, 5.23 ERA) vs. Domingo German, RHP (4-3, 3.49 ERA)

-- Saturday, June 17 (7:15 p.m. ET vs. Yankees): Brayan Bello, RHP (3-4, 3.78 ERA) vs. Clarke Schmidt, RHP (2-6, 4.70 ERA)

-- Sunday, June 18 (7:10 p.m. ET vs. Yankees): James Paxton, LHP (2-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. Luis Severino, RHP (0-1, 6.48 ERA)

Storylines to watch
1. Can the Red Sox cover ground in close games?
Boston not only enters the weekend one game under .500. It also has a plus-1 run differential. Very average, obviously. But the Red Sox tend to play close games. It's not like they're being blown out, despite some occasionally sloppy play, and therefore a turnaround remains possible if those coin-flip contests start going their way. Three of the Red Sox's last four games have gone to extra innings. Of Boston's last 18 games, 15 have been decided by three runs or fewer. And the Sox are 16-17 in games decided by two runs or fewer, a mark that ranks 17th in MLB.

2. An encore for Boston's young studs?
Tanner Houck takes the ball in Friday night's series opener. Brayan Bello will start Saturday. Both pitchers excelled last weekend in the Bronx, with Houck allowing just two runs over six innings despite suffering the loss and Bello settling for a no-decision despite seven frames of two-run ball. Boston's starting pitching has been good recently, ranking fifth in MLB with a 3.55 ERA since May 17, and another strong showing from their young guns would be very encouraging for the Red Sox.

3. Is Rafael Devers about to take over?
Even when Devers reached his lowest point this season, the advanced metrics suggested a breakout was imminent. Namely, he continued to make hard contact. Well, Devers launched two home runs last weekend at Yankee Stadium and then added another pair Tuesday night against the Rockies. Devers leads MLB in RBIs (56), and it's possible he's just getting started after a stretch of inconsistency.