A year ago tomorrow, the Red Sox were 39-18 and led the Yankees by two games in the AL East. The Yankees had been heavy favorites after acquiring home run champion Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, but the Hub had Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, and manager Alex Cora was sprinkling every move with fairy dust.

This season the Yankees are 35-18 and lead the third-place Red Sox by 6½ games. On Thursday, they’ll step onto the diamond for a four-game battle royale in the Bronx.

The Yankees are without five players from their opening day lineup: Giancarlo Stanton (strained biceps) hasn’t played since March 31, Troy Tulowitzki (calf muscle) has been out since April 3, Greg Bird (foot) since April 13, Aaron Judge (strained oblique) since April 20 and Miguel Andujar (torn shoulder muscle) since May 12.

Andujar underwent surgery and is out for the season, but the others are expected back before the All Star break, including shortstop Didi Grigorius who had rotator cuff surgery at the end of last season.

Despite having $100 million of talent on the injured list, the Yankees can boast the second-best record in the American League thanks to DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela, and Clint Frazier.

LeMahieu broke in with the Cubs and was traded to Colorado. In 2016, he led the NL in hitting and during this offseason he signed a free agent deal with the Yankees for $13 million.

LeMahieu’s playing second base, batting leadoff and hitting .316; Urshela is at third base and batting .328; Frazier is in right field and batting .284 (with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs in 37 games).

The Red Sox have outhit the Yankees this season (482-460) and lead the league in walks (220). This month, Christian Vazquez is batting .364, Rafael Devers is hitting .360 and Xander Bogaerts is batting .304.

In the Bronx, Yankees’s radio voice John Sterling has been honing his home run call— “Down-town goes Frazier! Let the Gardy Party begin!” The Bombers have hit 85 home runs to Boston’s 78 and have been caught stealing only five times in 31 attempts.

The Red Sox have been nabbed 11 times in 45 attempts, evoking memory of the Bugs Baer line: “He had larceny in his heart, but his feet were honest.”

As usual, the two teams are evenly matched. The only edge appears to be the Yankees bullpen which has a league-leading 19 saves. Setup men Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Holder and Zack Britton have paved the way to Aroldis Chapman’s 100-mph fastball in the ninth inning.

Boston’s five-man, closer-by-committee has combined for 12 saves, six by Ryan Brasier, who was oddly absent from the Houston series and hasn’t had a save since April 21.

This isn’t a crucial series for either team, but it’s always fun when these two rivals lock horns at the ball yard. The forecast is for clear skies and 80-degree temps; baseball weather.

HOUSTON REDUX: Just when it appeared the Astros were on a mission to KO the club that vanquished them from last year’s playoffs, the Red Sox got off the mat and beat them on back-to-back Sundays to avoid being swept. Houston pitchers held the Red Sox to a .237 average. Mitch Moreland, Martinez, and Andrew Benintendi were a collective 7-for 54 (.129) but Betts hit safely in all six games (10-24), Vazquez hit two home runs, and Devers and Bogaerts were a combined 12-for-38 (.316).

Likewise, Boston’s pitching staff held Houston’s batsmen to an anemic .231 average with just three home runs to Boston’s eight. Josh Reddick homered and was six-for-21; Reddick always plays ferocious against the team that traded him to Oakland in 2011.

Third baseman Alex Bregman walked eight times but otherwise was held to four hits in 18 at-bats; George Springer, Tony Kemp, Robinson Chirinos and Tyler White were a collective 8-for-57. Aledmys Diaz had five hits in seven at-bats but pulled a hamstring and joined Springer and 2017 MVP Jose Altuve (who missed the entire series) on the Injured List. 

After Bregman’s leadoff double on Sunday, Houston was held hitless over the final seven innings as relievers Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes and Marcus Walden combined for 6⅔ innings of scoreless, hitless pitching in the two wins.

It was the last time these teams will meet until either October or next season, but both clubs appear destined to make the playoffs.

RIP, BUCK: Bill Buckner played 2,517 games and had over 10,000 at-bats during his career, and he was scapegoated for his error in the sixth game of the 1986 World Series. Fans forget the Mets had come back to tie the score, 5-5, before Buckner misplayed Mookie Wilson’s grounder up the first base line. Kevin Mitchell scored on Bob Stanley’s wild pitch — or Rich Gedman’s passed ball depending on your point of view.

Yes, you could argue that the Red Sox lost all chance, but in those days when the Red Sox blew a lead it was over. They were already doomed, the game had reached the four-hour mark and Buckner simply put them out of their misery.

NUMBERS GAME: On Sunday in Houston, ’Stros center fielder Jake Marisnick robbed Benintendi with a back-to-the-plate catch reminiscent of Willie Mays’ grab off Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series. On the replay, NESN’s Jerry Remy exclaimed: “Only a five percent probability that he’s gonna make that catch. Throw those numbers out the window when Marisnick’s out there.”

Right Jerry, throw those numbers out, period. As New York Post columnist Phil Musnick puts it, probabilities are, “a high tech stab to create darkness from light.”

RAYS NOTES: Tampa Bay has a knack for trading good players before they go bad, a case in point being 2008 Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria, who’s batting .225 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 47 games for the Giants. By sending Longoria to San Francisco a year before he bottomed out, the Rays are off the hook for all but $15 million of the $81 million left on his contract. … On Memorial Day, right-hander Yonny Chirinos had a five-inning no-hitter against Toronto when he was pulled by manager Kevin Cash. “I wasn’t too worried about it,” Cash told the Tampa Bay Times after the 8-3 win.

SQUIBBERS: This has been the year of the prop-bet longshot. Julian Edelman was 3,000-1 to be named the Super Bowl MVP, and Brayden Schenn was 3,000-1 to score the first goal in Monday’s Stanley Cup playoff. … Finnish hockey winger Kaapo Kakko is a shoo-in to be on sportswriter Garry Brown’s list of all-time favorite sports names. …  During Monday’s Stanley Cup telecast, NBC analyst Patrick Sharp recalled Brad Marchand’s verbal jabs at him during the B’s-Blackhawks finals six years ago. “He told me my children were ugly,” said Sharp, who smiled and added, “I only have one child, a daughter, and she’s beautiful.”