Here we go again.

One year after the Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the 2025 Wild Card Round, the two eternal rivals will duke it out in another best-of-3 series in The Bronx.

The Yankees are a -170 favorite to win the series at DraftKings Sportsbook, and they are -149 to win Game 1 on Tuesday night.

Yankees vs. Red Sox series odds, prediction

While it’s not a surprise to see these two teams in the playoffs, they both dealt with plenty of adversity throughout the 162-game marathon.

Boston got off to a 10-17 start, which controversially cost Alex Cora his job as manager, then lost Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet to injuries. The BoSox were 14 games under .500 on June 18 (29-43). It looked like the season was over at Fenway Park, but the Red Sox then flipped the script with a summer-long heater and even put some pressure on the Rays and Yankees before cooling off down the stretch.

The Yankees were never under threat of missing the postseason, but they dealt with a litany of bad breaks throughout the campaign. Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have barely played, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon have been on and off the injured list, and impact players like Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham have also spent time on the shelf.

Judge is a doubt to play at all in the best-of-three, while the best-case scenario is that Grisham and Stanton play part-time roles.

While there is plenty of uncertainty with both offenses, each team will fancy their chances this October thanks to their starting rotations.

The Yankees will throw Cam Schlittler, the overwhelming favorite to win the Cy Young, followed by Fried and Gerrit Cole. It’s hard to better that, especially with Carlos Rodon ready and waiting to provide long relief if any of the starters struggle.

That said, the Red Sox will also be counting on their arms to be the difference-makers in this series and the postseason.

Standout rookie Payton Tolle, former Yankee Sonny Gray, and seasoned postseason starter Ranger Suarez are almost certain to get the assignments in the Bronx for Chad Tracy’s team, although the order is not confirmed.

Both clubs have terrific bullpens, though Boston has the slightly better back-end with Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman.

The plan for the Red Sox is pretty easy to put together. The Yankees have struggled against left-handed pitching this season, and Boston has two southpaw starters (Tolle and Suarez), plus plenty of others in the bullpen, including Chapman.

The Yankees can counter that approach thanks to their wealth of platoon options. Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Heliot Ramos, and Anthony Volpe could draw into the lineup when Boston is throwing a lefty.

While the margins are pretty thin, it’s hard to argue with the betting market making the Yanks a decent favorite to win this series. Schlittler in Game 1 is a massive edge, but they also have two aces backing him up. It’s hard to beat that formula.

The price for the series looks spot on, but there is potential to find massive value in the props market.

In their current setups, the Yankees and Red Sox are built to suppress runs, and that should be the theme of this series. Offense will be at a premium, which means it may take just one or (more likely) two home runs to lead this best-of-three series in home runs.

Aaron Judge is the favorite to lead this series in homers at DraftKings, but he may not even play. Ben Rice (+350) is right behind him, and then Boston’s Willson Contreras, who is banged up, is next at +550. Rice is deserving of his status at the top, but we’re talking about such a small sample of games (three, maximum) that it makes little sense to back somebody at that price.

Instead, we’ll look at a Yankee long shot.

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The Yankees lineup will change dramatically based on who is starting for the Red Sox, but it’s fair to say that George Lombard Jr.’s spot as the starting shortstop feels safe. The rookie endured some growing pains since making his debut in the summer, but the good has outweighed the bad.

He’ll get a baptism by fire going up against the Red Sox in his first postseason action, but the 21-year-old has shown a flair for the dramatic, so the moment shouldn’t be too big for him.

And while Lombard Jr.’s power numbers don’t pop off the page, we’re not asking that much of him.

In a series that projects to be low-scoring, we’re looking for someone to go deep twice to give us a chance. At 80/1, I’m happy to take a chance on the in-form Lombard to be that guy.

The Play: George Lombard Jr. most home runs (80/1, DraftKings)

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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.