NEW YORK -- Getting above .500 has proved to be difficult for the New York Yankees.The degree of difficulty is about become even more challenging.The Yankees will begin a 10-game homestand against three of the best teams in the majors starting Friday night when they face the Boston Red Sox.The Yankees will be taking on an opponent that leads baseball in runs (490), batting average (.292), on-base percentage (.359), slugging percentage (.474), OPS (.833) and doubles (216).And the difficulty doesnt let up after that with seven games against the first-place Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants.Its the kind of homestand that can put you in a good position or it could put way downstairs, right fielder Carlos Beltran told reporters during the All-Star break.Way downstairs would be even worse deficits in the American League East and the wild-card races. The Yankees are 7 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the AL East and 5 1/2 out of the second wild card with six teams (Toronto, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Seattle) ahead of them.Friday begins a stretch of seven straight games against the top two teams in the AL East.Were not in a great position necessarily, but if youre in this position you want to be playing a lot of games, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. That could be a really good thing.The Yankees have reached .500 eight times since May 24 and the latest instance might have been the least unexpected. New York ended the first half by taking three of four in Cleveland after dropping four of six in San Diego and Chicago, respectively.The Red Sox took a 49-38 record into the break and have seemingly recovered from a June slump that dropped them out of first place. From June 14 to June 29, the Red Sox dropped 10 of 16 to fall 5 1/2 games out, but since then they have won seven of nine and concluded the first half with a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay when David Price threw eight outstanding innings and David Ortiz hit a two-run homer.This homestand is what we needed, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. Coming off a tough month of June, we gain a little momentum as we go into the break.Ortiz has 75 regular-season games remaining in his career and enters Friday with a .332 average, 22 home runs and 72 RBI.According the Elias Sports Bureau, he has the most RBI at the break of any player 40 or older and is the second oldest player to hit 20-plus home runs in the first half.Its probably beyond our expectations coming into his final season, Farrell said. Just a powerful and impressive first half.Ortiz is not the only Red Sox player to post impressive numbers in the first half.Mookie Betts is batting .408 (20-for-49) during an 11-game hitting streak, the sixth Red Sox with a hitting streak of at least 10 games this season. Dustin Pedroia is batting .315 (23-for-73) during his current 18-game on-base streak and Hanley Ramirez is hitting .408 (20-for-49) in his last 14 games since June 22.Michael Pineda (3-8, 5.38 ERA) has personified inconsistency at various points this season and will open the second half for New York.Pineda had a 2.75 ERA in six June starts but began July by allowing five runs and five hits in six innings during a 5-0 loss at Chicago on July 6. It marked the sixth time he allowed at least five runs, and it is one less than the amount of starts that Pineda has gotten at least eight strikeouts.Pineda is 4-4 with a 4.50 ERA in nine career starts against the Red Sox. On April 30 in an 8-0 loss at Fenway Park, Pineda allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. On May 6 in New York, he gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings of a 3-2 win.If pitching to Bostons offense isnt challenging enough, hitting against knuckleballer Steven Wright might only add to the difficulty for the Yankees. Wright (10-5, 2.68 ERA) took a shutout into the ninth inning and pitched a three-hitter in two hours and 20 minutes on May 8 in New York.Wright is 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA in four outings (three starts) against the Yankees. He went into the break with straight wins despite allowing a combined nine earned runs and 17 hits in 11 innings against the Angels and Texas Rangers. Thurman Munson Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Lou Gehrig Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.cheapyankeesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=cheap-wade-boggs-jersey . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Aroldis Chapman Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Brian Roberts Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Watford and Bournemouth settled for a point apiece in an exciting 2-2 draw Saturday at Vicarage Road.Home-standing Watford came into the clash looking for a bounce-back performance following last weeks subpar 2-0 loss to Burnley, while Bournemouth was on the hunt for a second consecutive Premier League win after last weeks impressive 1-0 result over Everton.Watford had the better of the play early, but it was Bournemouth that seized control against the run of play in the 31st minute as Calum Wilson got on the end of a deflected near-post cross and nodded it past a stunned Heurelho Gomes to give the visitors the advantage.Watford authored a decent response to going down, but went into the break behind before Troy Deeney equalized with an exceptional strike five minutes into the second half.Things continued to pick up as Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, who has seemingly done well to drown out the noise surrounding his prospects of taking over the England job, sent Josh King into the fray in the 62nd minute.dddddddddddd. The move paid immediate dividends when King unleashed a curling strike into the top corner past Gomes to put the Cherries back in front.Not to be outdone, Watford manager Walter Mazzarri had sent Isaac Success onto the pitch in the 56th minute, and it was Success who pulled back the equalizer for Watford 25 minutes from time with a brilliant header past goalkeeper Artur Boruc from a free kick.With all to play for and 25 minutes to go, both clubs went for the win, pushing numbers forward on the hunt for all three points, but neither side could find a late winner.The result sees Watford up to 11th place with eight points from seven matches, while Bournemouth is now unbeaten in two straight Premier League matches and three of their last four to improve to eight points on the young campaign. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '