The Yankees didn’t just sweep Boston. They found a different gear without Aaron Judge and made sure everyone in the ballpark knew it.
New York rolled through the Red Sox in the wild-card round, winning 9-0 in Game 1 on Tuesday and 9-2 in Game 2 on Wednesday. By the end, it didn’t feel close at all.
“That,” New York manager Aaron Boone says, “was about as good as we can play. I just told the guys, ‘If we play like that, we can beat anybody.’”
For Boston, the finish was a rough cap to a season that came apart in pieces. The Red Sox went 32-46, then 32-5, then 23-26, with the final month leaving them as the worst hitting team in baseball. Those 37 midsummer games that rescued the season now look like the outlier, not the rule.
And in this series, their offensive depth had no answer for a Yankees team that kept coming from every angle.
The second game in particular turned ugly in a hurry. Willson Contreras failed to cover first when his shortstop dove for a liner, then didn’t stretch for a throw from catcher Adley Rutschman on a third-strike wild pitch, setting up six runs in the sixth.
Manager Chad Tracy also repeated the move of going to Erik Miller as a shutdown lefty reliever even though lefties are batting .533 against Miller this month. Jazz Chisholm Jr. then stole second base standing up with a six-run cushion, and Rutschman threw a ball into center field on a stolen base by Spencer Jones.
It was the kind of series that drained all the drama out of October.
The Yankees also showed they can win a different way without Judge. In Game 2, they became the first postseason team in franchise history to collect 12 singles, steal four bases, add two productive outs for runs and even lay down a perfectly executed bunt. That kind of speed-and-pressure attack gives New York another path if Judge can’t return from his calf injury in time for the ALDS.
The next test is Tampa Bay, and it should be a better one. The Rays beat the Yankees in the season series, 7-6, though New York outscored them 54-45.
Tampa Bay doesn’t strike out much and works the game into tight, low-scoring territory, which is exactly how it would like to drag this series. But the Yankees have already shown Boston that they can beat teams in more than one style.
They also bring more depth and more power on the mound. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried combined to allow one run in 12 1/3 innings against Boston, never letting the Red Sox build any momentum. Fried, in particular, mixed his pitches masterfully, throwing 23 different speeds between 73 mph and 98 mph.
The Rays may have one clear path. The Yankees, as they just proved, have several.
In Other News...
Willson Contreras Just Sparked A New Red Sox Debate
After the Red Sox dropped Game 2 of the AL Wild Card series, catcher Willson Contreras offered a blunt critique of the way the team has been managed in big moments. His frustration centered on Boston's heavy reliance on data and analytics, a philosophy that has shaped plenty of decisions but also left room for questions when the margin gets tight and the postseason pressure rises.
Contreras pushed the idea that experience and veteran leadership still matter just as much as the numbers, especially in a series like this one against the Yankees. For a Red Sox team already trying to sort through the disappointment of the loss, his comments add another layer to the conversation about how much trust should be placed in the process when the stakes are highest. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Season Ended In The Worst Way Against The Yankees
The Red Sox season came to a halt in the most familiar kind of October pain, two losses to the Yankees in the Wild Card series ending Bostons postseason before it had a chance to build any momentum. For a club that spent the year trying to put itself in position for a deeper run, the short stay in the bracket made the disappointment immediate and hard to soften, even as manager Chad Tracy spoke openly about how much the defeat stung.
Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet both were dealing with injuries during the series, adding another layer of frustration to a matchup that already carried plenty of history. With the Yankees moving on to the American League Division Series, the Red Sox are left to sort through not just the final score of their season, but the feeling that their October ended in the worst possible way. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Gray Just Made Bostons Offseason A Lot More Complicated
Sonny Grays first October cameo with the Red Sox gave Boston plenty to weigh going forward, even before the offseason conversations really begin. He worked 4.2 innings in the Wild Card series against the Yankees, allowed two runs and struck out five, then came out early at the decision of manager Chad Tracy.
After the series, Gray did not sound like someone assuming he would be back in Boston next season. The veteran right-hander said he was disappointed by the early removal and signaled uncertainty about returning, even after a season in which he posted a 2.72 ERA and led the league with 18 wins. For a team that just got a close-up look at what he can still provide, the question now is whether it gets another one. [Read more 🡒]