The Yankees and Red Sox are facing off in the MLB playoffs for the first time since their incredible 2004 series

One of baseball's most famous rivalries is getting another chapter in its renowned history.

Major League Baseball's division series begin Thursday, starting with game one in a best-of-five series between the Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers, and another between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. On Friday, the 2017 World Series-winning Houston Astros kick off their series with the Cleveland Indians.

But all eyes are on the Friday matchup between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the first postseason game between the two rivals since the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 ALCS deficit against the Yankees on their way to winning Boston's first World Series since 1918. The teams will meet at Fenway Park in Boston.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"It's going to be fun," Yankees reliever Dellin Betances told ESPN after a 7-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Wednesday's wild card game. "A lot of people in baseball wanted this. We wanted this. We [get] a chance to go head-to-head with them. We've been doing it all year, so this is going to be a fun, exciting series."