The Yankees spent Sunday waiting out rain in the Bronx, and by the time the tarp finally stayed put for good, the conversation had already moved far beyond weather.
What should have been a routine lost game turned into a fresh point of fury for Red Sox fans, who looked at MLB’s handling of the storm-soaked weekend and saw a setup that seemed to tilt toward New York. The Yankees’ game against Baltimore was washed away after a three-hour delay, while Boston’s finale against the Cubs was sent to Tropicana Field in St.
Petersburg, Florida. That contrast was enough to set off a wave of accusations online, with fans calling out what they viewed as a league double standard.
Andrew, posting as @A_Loadingg, wrote: “So why couldnt the sox game have been PPD? Thats absurd.”
X user @mariannemonaco added: “Unbelievable…The @mlb definitely favors the yankees.”
The timing of the league’s decisions matters here. Boston’s game was moved while it still carried postseason seeding implications.
By the time Sunday arrived, that part of the picture had changed. The Cubs no longer had anything to gain, thanks to San Diego’s 10-7 win over Arizona on Saturday, which locked up home field against Chicago.
Boston still played, and lost 6-2, with Alex Bregman going 4-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs against his former club. The Red Sox finished 87-75.
New York’s finale, on the other hand, never got off the ground. The Yankees had already clinched the top Wild Card spot, Baltimore was done at 79-82, and the game was called about three hours after its scheduled 1:05 p.m. start.
It will not be made up. The Yankees finish 93-68.
That left the two rivals in very different places heading into Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Series opener at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have been idle since Friday, and by the time Game 1 starts at 8 p.m.
ET, roughly 96 hours will have passed since their last game. Boston, meanwhile, has to come north after playing Sunday.
On paper, that break gives New York a clean pitching edge. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried both threw bullpen sessions Sunday in the rain, and Schlittler gets the ball in Game 1.
He enters at 14-6 with an AL-best 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts. Fried is lined up for Wednesday, with Gerrit Cole in position to start a Game 3 if the series goes that far, and Carlos Rodón available out of the bullpen.
Schlittler has been especially tough on Boston. In four starts against the Red Sox this season, he went 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA, held them to a .174 average, and struck out 27 in 24 1/3 innings.
The Yankees’ offense, though, is dealing with a different kind of layoff. Their hitters haven’t seen live pitching since Friday, and their first look in this series comes against rookie left-hander Payton Tolle, who held them to a .093 average and a 0.69 ERA in two starts.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy isn’t worried about the rookie’s moment.
“I know he’s a rookie, but as far as the way he approaches baseball and big moments, that part won’t bother him,” Tracy said.
There’s also the matter of Aaron Judge. The Yankees star has been out since Sept. 16 with a strained right calf, and he appears doubtful for Game 1. He took live batting practice Monday and said he’s pushing to get back.
“I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,” Judge said.
Boone didn’t exactly sound like he was plotting for a break to swing things New York’s way while the storm rolled through. After the delay, the Yankees manager kept his focus on the matchup itself.
“The window is in play. Not sure what window that is,” Boone said.
Then, once the game was gone, he framed it the way everyone in the Bronx eventually does.
“It’s Yankee Stadium, it’s the Bronx, it’s Red Sox-Yankees,” Boone said.
The postponement also shut down one statistical chase for New York. The rainout ended the Yankees’ attempt to finish 94-68 for a third straight season, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, no team has posted the same record in three straight years.
Last October is still sitting there as a reminder for both sides. The Yankees dropped Game 1 to Boston at home, then became the first team since the 2022 format change to win a Wild Card Series after losing the opener.
For now, the only thing settled is the date and time. The series opens Tuesday at 8 p.m.
ET on NBC and Peacock. The storm is over.
The arguments around it are not.
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