How can the Red Sox or Yankees swing the series in their favor?

The ALDS is tied 1-1 heading to Yankee Stadium, and now both the Red Sox and Yankees have their sights set on winning a pivotal Game 3.

It’s been 14 years since Major League Baseball’s most hated rivals New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have clashed in a postseason series. And through two games of the 2018 American League Division Series, they haven’t disappointed yet.

Both teams picked up victories at Fenway Park to take a 1-1 split, and the power bats were on display for both teams. J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts have each gone deep for Boston, while Aaron Judge (twice) and Gary Sanchez have done the same for New York.

With each team having taken one game, the series will now make the transition to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Game 3 on Monday night will be critical for both teams, as it will put the winner just a single victory away from the American League Championship Series.

The series is about to take a drastic turn in one way or the other, and here’s what each team needs to do in Game 3 to swing the series in their favor…

New York

The Yankees did exactly what they needed to do by getting a split in Boston, and now they’ve taken home field advantage for themselves. They need two more wins to advance to the ALCS, and the next two games will be played at Yankee Stadium. They now have every advantage in this series.

While feeding off of their home crowd, the vicious Yankee lineup now needs to absolutely go to work against the Boston pitching. Aaron Judge has already homered twice in the series, and there is no reason why he should slow down now. Gary Sanchez’s three-run bomb was the deciding factor in Game 2, and if the Yankees can get the bats of Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius going in Game 3, they should win big and snag a 2-1 series lead.

Based on the all-around strength of the lineup, the fact that ace Luis Severino will take the mound for Game 3, and the home field advantage factor, the Yankees should be the favorite in this series from here on out.

Boston

Manager Alex Cora has decided to shake things up and start Nathan Eovaldi in Game 3 instead of the originally scheduled starter Rick Porcello. Whether or not that has anything to do with Porcello’s relief appearance in Game 1, we’re not sure.

The Red Sox aren’t in a good spot heading to New York, and if they are going to overcome the obstacles and swing the series in their favor, they need a big outing from Eovaldi. He’s tasked with the challenge of quieting the vaunted Yankee lineup at their home ballpark; something that is not easy to do.

Luckily for the Sox, Eovaldi — whom they picked up at the trade deadline — has had success against the Yankees this year. He made a start at Yankee Stadium in September and pitched six shutout innings in a 3-2 Boston defeat. Previously, in early August, Eovaldi shut the Yankees out through eight dominant innings at Fenway Park.

One problem though: Aaron Judge wasn’t in the lineup for either of those starts.

But if the Red Sox are going to reclaim an advantage in this series, Eovaldi has to keep them in this game. It will be interesting to see how he can perform under the October spotlight.