Rivals inspire Voit and Bombers to think big

playing balls off the wall and working on different scenarios, throwing in to second base, third and first.

Even though he has been on the injured list since April 21 with a left oblique strain, Judge has been an important part of this team, Boone said.

“Aaron is a special player, but just a special person and a special presence in our room, so as upset as he was when he first got injured, one of the first conversations I had with him was ‘You can still impact us in a big way,’” Boone said. “I feel like he has. He went on that first road trip with us. He’s a part of our hitters meetings. He’s a part of integrating players that we’ve brought in to the clubhouse and to the team. It’s a part of our postgame when we talk and talk about a victory or whatever. He’s been a huge part of this and a huge presence for the guys in that room.”

Luke Voit barely knew where he was. After being dealt to the Yankees earlier that week, the new slugger was called up just in time to join the Bombers in Fenway. “And I sucked and was sent down,” Voit said with a laugh.

Voit has been on a mission since to prove he is no fluke and that he belongs in the heart of the order for the Yankees. Remembering his first stint as a Yankee in early August 2018, he relishes these Red Sox series. Now as the leader of a group of B-Bombers, who have been called a flukes, Voit sees this series as a chance for them to establish themselves as one of the best teams in baseball.

“They won the championship, they are the team we gotta beat to get there,” Voit said. “For a lot of guys this is a really big series, their first. Someone said today that we have the weakest strength of schedule so far in baseball. You have to play who you play, it all evens out.”

That chance was delayed on Thursday night by rain. The game was postponed to Aug. 3 when it will be a split-admission doubleheader.

For the Yankees, this actually solves a problem. They were scheduled to have one more “bullpen,” day this week, but now they can go with their scheduled starters. J.A. Happ, who was scheduled to start Thursday night’s game, has been pushed back to Friday night. Domingo German will start on Saturday and CC Sabathia will come off the injured list and start Sunday’s series-finale.

The Red Sox will push back Thursday’s scheduled starter Chris Sale to Friday night too, but beyond that manager Alex Cora said they were undecided.

The Yankees (36-19) come into this series with a one-game lead over the Rays for the American League East lead. The Red Sox (2927) are 7.5 games back.

Aaron Boone is aware of the standings. The Yankee manager, however, has his hands full keeping a team of replacement players on track.

“It’s day to day for me. I feel like we’re in a really good place a third of the way through the season, obviously. Our guys played well, but there is a long ways to go,” Boone said Thursday. “We really, as much as we can, try to focus on the day. We know we got J.A. going. They’ve got Sale going. That represents a lot of challenges. Put a good game plan together and hopefully get a W tonight.”

But, as Voit said, this rivalry still holds a special place in the hearts of everyone who has played in it — or come out as a fan to cheer their team on.

Last September, as Frank Sinatra’s voice rang out ‘New York, New York,’ across what was by then an empty stadium, these Red Sox danced on the field to celebrate clinching the division title. A few weeks later, they mobbed each other on this same field as they beat the Yankees in the AL Division Series.

In the home dugout, after both games, the Yankees watched the Red Sox whoop it up. It was a lasting impression of the 2018 season and one that fed them this spring.

Boone, who delivered one of the biggest daggers in this rivalry in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series, is quick to warn about building it up too much.

“I mean we’re playing the Boston Red Sox. We know how good they are, we know we have to play really well,” Boone said. “You can’t win Sunday’s game today. You can’t win three games today.

“It’s what do we have to do today. What’s our plan. That may sound like a billboard or (cliche) or whatever, but that’s how we approach it,” Boone said. “We got to get ready to go and try to win a game.”