Two games, two coasts, one streaming service you probably forgot you subscribed to. Apple TV+ hauls out the Friday Night Baseball doubleheader on July 24, and for once the scheduling gods delivered something worth the password sharing.
First course: the Yankees (57-45) roll into Citizens Bank Park to face the Phillies (56-47) at 6:45 p.m. ET. Will Warren gets the ball for New York against Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo, who sits at 9-4 with a 3.43 ERA and has been the kind of left-handed presence that makes a lineup think twice about stacking righties. One game separates these two in the standings — 57 wins versus 56 — and neither club can afford a slip in a pennant race this tight.
Then the nightcap: Blue Jays (47-56) at Red Sox (52-49), 7:15 p.m. at Fenway Park. Boston enters the weekend riding one of the hotter stretches in baseball, having clawed back into the American League Wild Card conversation behind a balanced lineup and steadier pitching. A lengthy winning streak got snapped earlier in the week, and the Red Sox need to restart the engine quickly.
Toronto, meanwhile, is running out of runway. Nine games under .500 and fading, the Blue Jays need this series the way a drowning team needs a rope. Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage (4-5, 3.78 ERA) takes the mound for Toronto. Boston counters with lefty Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 4.82 ERA) — a line that screams “small sample, large uncertainty.”
The lineups tell their own story. Toronto trots out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, George Springer at DH, and Kazuma Okamoto at third — a middle-of-the-order with enough thump to flip a game in one inning. Boston counters with Ceddanne Rafaela leading off the bottom of the order’s production, Willson Contreras at first, and Masataka Yoshida at DH. Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Caleb Durbin round out a Red Sox lineup that has been manufacturing runs in bunches during this recent surge.
Here’s the matchup math that matters. Sandoval’s 4.82 ERA is a small-sample mirage — he’s made limited appearances — but lefties have historically given Toronto’s right-handed-heavy lineup fits. Yesavage, the rookie, has been serviceable (3.78 ERA) but has never pitched at Fenway, and the Green Monster eats young right-handers alive. The wind blowing out to left turns routine fly balls into doubles and turns doubles into souvenirs.
Give me the Red Sox at home, riding momentum, against a rookie making his first Fenway start. Boston should take the opener.
The Yankees-Phillies game is the sharper coin flip. Warren on the road against a Phillies lineup that hits left-handed starters well? Luzardo at home with that ERA? Philadelphia has the edge in starting pitching and home-field comfort. Phillies by a run.
Both games stream exclusively on Apple TV+ through the Apple TV app on phones, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices. New subscribers get a seven-day free trial before the $12.99 monthly fee kicks in. Next week’s Apple TV+ slate features the Rangers at Astros and Giants at Padres on July 31.
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