Rainout Was Best Thing That Could've Happened to Red Sox for Series Against Yankees

The Boston Red Sox were set for another installment of the most heated rivalry in sports Thursday night as they prepared for a four-game series against New York Yankees before the opener was postponed due to rain.

However, the rainout is the best thing that could have happened to the Red Sox.

On Wednesday night, Boston played a marathon of a game against the Cleveland Indians, ultimately losing 14-9. After a long Wednesday evening for the Sox and back-to-back brutal losses, a day off before diving into a four-game series on the road against a heated rival isn't the worst thing.

Right now, Boston sits in third place in the AL East and is 7.5 games out of first place from their New York foes. A four-game series presented a much easier opportunity for the Yankees to extend that lead to 10.5 games if they managed to take three of four, but now the Sox have a much more manageable task of avoiding a three-game sweep with favorable matchups against JA Happ and CC Sabathia.

Looking up at their rivals, the Red Sox know they have a tough three games ahead this weekend. The Yankees have been on a roll of late and nothing seems to be slowing them down at all. But with an extra day of rest and time to regroup for a shorter series, the Sox lucked out in a big way with Thursday's rainout.