The Boston Red Sox Monday, August 21, 2017 * The Boston Globe The pick here is Andrew Benintendi over Aaron Judge Dan Shaughnessy Aaron Judge vs. Andrew Benintendi. Forget 2017 American League Rookie of the Year. I’m asking . which guy would you rather have on your team for the next 15 seasons? We love these Yankee-Red Sox mano-a-manos. It’s as old as the rivalry itself. Joe DiMagggio came to the bigs in 1936. Ted Williams burst on the scene three years later. Throughout the 1940s, it was a raging argument. We were even led to believe that the respective owners of the Sox and Yankees once made a late-night swap while in a drunken haze. The alleged trade was called off by dawn’s early light. Remember when the Sox had Carlton Fisk and the Yanks had Thurman Munson? New York’s grumpy catcher was a league MVP before his career was tragically cut short when he crashed his plane in 1979. Fisk went on to become a Hall of Famer. Don Mattingly and Wade Boggs were rivals of sorts in the 1980s and who can forget those early years of this new century when Nomar Garciaparra vs. Derek Jeter was a real debate. Now we have Judge and Benintendi. Big Poison and Little Poison. It’s 6 feet 7 inches and 282 pounds vs. 5-10 and 170. It’s not about Rookie of the Year anymore. Even though he is playing as badly as anyone can play at the moment, Judge pretty much retired the rookie trophy with his ridiculous first half. He has slumped badly since winning the Home Run Derby in Miami, but his 37 homers and 80 RBIs won’t be dismissed when the votes are tabulated after the end of the regular season. It’s a mistake, of course, to take a small sample and make a rash judgment on the last thing you see. In that spirit, we must remind ourselves that what Benindenti did to the Yankees over the last two weekends and what Judge did not do vs. the Red Sox should not stand as the definition of either player. But it’s hard to get the images out of your head. The Sox won four of six vs. the Bombers over the last two weekends and Benintendi was a mini-wrecking ball. He hit three homers in the first two games at Yankee Stadium and tacked on another three hits in the Sox’ two wins at Fenway this weekend. He had two singles in Sunday’s 5-1 series clincher. He has four homers and 12 RBIs vs. New York this year. Judge, meanwhile, can’t get out of his big lumbering way against the Red Sox. He launched a homer into the Fenway bullpen in the Yankees’ first trip to Fenway in April, but has done nothing since. In the second half against the Red Sox, Judge is hitting .070 with three singles and 17 strikeouts in 43 at-bats. Sunday was particularly embarrassing. Judge went 0 for 4 and struck out against Addison Reed in the eighth, giving him strikeouts in 37 consecutive games, a single-season big league record. He also was punked by Mookie Betts, who took third base after a fly ball out that Judge lazily chucked back to the infield. It was the second such episode in the series. In his rookie season, Judge is hitting .155 (9 for 58) with one homer and two RBIs vs. the Red Sox. He has walked 11 times and struck out 25 times in 15 games vs. Boston. Still, the overall numbers are the overall numbers. Judge is going to be Rookie of the Year and still has a chance to be MVP if he finds his first-half groove. Benintendi is hitting .277 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs. But which guy do you want for the rest of his career? Both have amazing talent. Benintendi is never going to be a 40-home run guy. Judge could be a 60-home run guy. Benintendi is faster and a better fielder. Both are polite, if a little dull. And they have never met. “We walked by each other the other day and I said ‘hi,’ ’’ Benintendi relayed late Sunday afternoon. “But we’ve never actually been introduced or anything.’’ I asked Benintendi he could relate to what is happening to Judge right now. “Yeah, because I went through it,’’ said the Sox outfielder, referring to an earlier slump of his own. “It’s such a long season, it’s bound to happen to everybody.’’ Judge is a big topic in New York today. In a bad way. There’s clamoring for Joe Girardi to drop him from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. “I’m not getting the job done,’’ said Judge. “I’m the No. 3 hitter and I have faith in the guys around me, but it’s a little disappointing. Still, you can’t pout. You’ve just got to keep working and move on.’’ He answered all the questions from the bloodthirsty pack — even the one about getting abused by Betts (“a mistake on my part”). When there were no more questions, Judge made his way toward the trainer’s room in the cramped visitors clubhouse at Fenway. As he approached the training room door, an underpaid, overworked clubbie was struggling mightily with a gigantic equipment case. The rollers at the bottom of the case were snagged on a carpet, which had rolled up. Judge said nothing. He just reached down, lifted the enormous case with one hand, and flattened out the rug beneath with his other hand so that the clubbie could roll the thing out the door. Infinite grace. Made me hope things get better for the big guy. But I’m taking Benintendi. Rick Porcello, Red Sox beat Yankees to boost AL East lead to 5 games Peter Abraham The Red Sox intended to keep their rotation in order and pitch No. 5 starter Doug Fister against the Yankees on Sunday. Then manager John Farrell changed his mind, deciding his team should throw its best punch. Rick Porcello was shifted into the series, Farrell banking that his experience against the Yankees would pay off. The move worked. Porcello pitched six strong innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in three runs in a 5-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 36,911 at Fenway Park. The Sox took two of three from the Yankees and have won 14 of 17 overall. They now lead the American League East by five games. The last 11 games have been against teams in contention for a playoff spot and the Sox have won eight of them. Can they play any better? “I don’t know,” Porcello said. “Let’s find out.” With 39 games left, the Sox trail the Houston Astros by 4½ games for the best record in the league and top seed in the playoffs. That is a realistic goal considering the teams meet four times at Fenway to end the season. Good competition seems to bring out this team’s best, a theory that will be further tested when they start a four-game series at Cleveland on Monday night. “No doubt,” Bradley said. “When you play against teams with postseason aspirations, you get a feel for their best and they get a feel for your best. We feel like we’ve been trending in the right direction. “We just want to continue. Don’t put too much thought or pressure into doing too much. Just continue doing what we’re doing.” Porcello (8-14) has won his last four starts and has a 3.47 earned run average in nine starts dating to July 3. He allowed one run on three hits on Sunday, holding the Yankees down after the Sox took an early lead. “Trying to throw the right pitches to the right guys,” Porcello said. If Porcello can continue around the corner he has turned, it would have a significant impact on the rest of the season. A postseason rotation of Chris Sale, Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, and Eduardo Rodriguez would be formidable. “He’s been able to work ahead in the count. His location continues to stay consistent. That’s the biggest key with Rick. He set the tone for us,” Farrell said. Porcello has a 2.71 ERA in nine starts against the Yankees since joining the Red Sox, 1.51 in six starts at Fenway. The only run Porcello allowed was in the fifth inning when Brett Gardner sneaked a home run around the Pesky Pole. Porcello, Brandon Workman, Addison Reed, and Craig Kimbrel retired the final 14 Yankees in order. Yankees starter Sonny Gray (7-8) worked so slowly it’s a wonder he didn’t nod off on the mound. He was done after five innings and 106 pitches. Gray allowed two runs, both in the second inning. Xander Bogaerts and Sandy Leon had singles before Bradley lined a fastball to center field. The ball rolled to the base of 420 sign in center for a triple as two runs scored. Gray stranded runners in scoring position in the third and fifth innings. He has faced the Sox twice this season and allowed five runs over 11 innings. Facing Adam Warren in the sixth inning, Mitch Moreland singled and moved up on a wild pitch. He took third on Leon’s ground out and scored when Bradley singled to right field. Bradley is 6 of his last 14 with eight RBIs.