BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Baseball's best rivalry returns to Fenway tonight, and the Red Sox are excited.
The Sox-Yankees rivalry dates back more than a century and 2,000 games and, tonight, a new chapter begins in the opener of the Division Series. It's the fourth playoff meeting all-time between Boston and New York after losses in 1999 and 2003 and, of course, baseball's best comeback from down three-games-to-none to win the ALCS 14 years ago. Game 1 starter Chris Sale can't wait to get started.
"It's fun. What else do you want?" Sale said. "You've got the Yankees and the Red Sox in the playoffs playing against each other. One of the biggest rivalries in sports. Ever. It's what we signed up for."
The Sox went 10-9 opposite the Yanks in the regular season. Steven Wright said the clubs are evenly matched.
"We've got a lot of experience with the Yankees, and they've got a lot of experience with us," Wright said. "Regardless of whether it's the playoffs or not, it's always exciting to go against the Yankees because it's gonna make for great baseball."
Sox skipper Alex Cora knows this best-of-five is what people wanted. "As far as the fanbases, they were looking forward to this," Cora said. "And it should be fun."
First pitch takes place at 7:32 PM at Fenway Park.
WBZ NewsRadio1030's Adam Kaufman reports
(Photo: Getty Images)