The Red Sox and Yankees met on March 3 for a game played in a miniature of Fenway Park by teams that represented a small-scale imitation of the rivalry to come in 2018.
The Yankees won 5-3 at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, but neither Giancarlo Stanton nor Aaron Judge made the trip south from New York’s spring training home in Tampa. The two sluggers likely won’t miss the clubs’ next meeting, in Boston on April 10, when the sides finally bring the competition to the diamond after an arms race over the winter.
In 2017, the Sox finished 93-69 and captured the AL East title, while their pinstriped rivals settled for second place, a 91-71 record, and a spot in the wild-card playoff.