The New York Yankees clinched an ALDS berth thanks to a 9-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, winning the Wild Card series 2-0. Cody Bellinger went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.
Max Fried got the win, pitching six innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one walk while striking out six hitters. Sonny Gray got the loss, allowing six hits, two runs, and no walks while striking out five. New York got nine runs on 14 hits, while the Red Sox got two runs on four hits while committing an error in the field.
Luis Garcia Jr. got the scoring started in the fourth inning as he took a Sonny Gray sweeper and crushed it into the right-field bleachers at 107 miles per hour to make it 1-0. In the fifth inning, after allowing runners on first and second with two outs, Boston manager Chad Tracy once again opted to take out his starter. He put in Erik Miller in the fifth inning against a lefty. Also for the second straight time, Miller allowed the Yankees to extend their lead to 2-0, this time via an RBI single from Cody Bellinger.
The top of the sixth saw the Red Sox finally snap their postseason scoring drought. It had lasted 26.2 innings, dating back to game two of the 2025 AL Wild Card series against New York. Boston’s score came from a solo shot to right-center field by Willson Contreras. Fried, however, would finish the inning before being replaced by Will Warren.
Garrett Crochet made his first appearance since April 25th and his first relief appearance since October 1st, 2023, in the bottom half of the inning. Despite striking out Spencer Jones to start the inning, he reached base via a dropped third strike. He then stole second, then took third on a throwing error by catcher Adley Rutschman, and George Lombard Jr. drove him in with an RBI single. Lombard Jr. finished the game going 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts after a three-hit performance last game.
Unfortunately, Crochet’s outing lasted four batters, and he didn’t record a single out while giving up three hits and two runs. Austin Wells contributed his third RBI of the series with a sacrifice fly ball to make it 4-1, before Ryan McMahon added another run via an RBI groundout to third base. The game, however, didn’t get out of control until Bellinger smacked a three-run home run on a Garrett Whitlock changeup to make it an 8-1 ballgame. Bellinger had a much better performance compared to his 1-for-4 effort in game one.
Nick Sogard got some retribution in the form of a solo shot to make it 8-2. Wells, however, added his second RBI of the game with an RBI single to get to the final score.
Once again, Tracy decided to take his starting pitcher out after 4.2 innings of work to go to the bullpen. Once again, the move failed him. Even more confusingly, he put Miller in once again, even after his game-one performance. New York scored 15 of their 18 runs in the series against the Red Sox bullpen. Gray only threw 74 pitches this game, and they brought in Miller to face Bellinger despite his having a .435 batting average against sliders from left-handed pitchers this season. Miller throws his slider 41% of the time.
After that, Tracy decided to put in Crochet, who hadn’t pitched since late April, and he couldn’t record an out. Although Crochet has experience in the bullpen, with the vast majority of his Chicago White Sox tenure being as a reliever, he was a huge question mark considering his long absence this season. Tracy’s bullpen decisions dug Boston’s grave this series.
Tracy needs to take a page out of Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s book and just let his starting pitchers ride, just like he did with Fried, as he threw 98 pitches in this game. The Red Sox had the second-best starting pitching ERA in the American League this year, and the seventh-best in the majors. Tracy, however, was quick to pull them in this series, and that was where New York did most of their damage. The Yankees only scored three runs off the Boston starting pitching over the two games.
The Red Sox notched seven hits across the two games of the series while scoring two runs. Saying they did better offensively this game compared to game one is faint praise. Instead of three hits and a walk, they notched four hits and two walks this game. They also struck out eight times during this game, tallying 18 total strikeouts across the pair of games.
It also doesn’t help that the guys at the top of the lineup, outside of Willson Contreras, who hit third, provided virtually nothing. Jahmai Jones, Rutschman, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela went 0-for-16 with four strikeouts. Contreras, after an 0-for-4, three-strikeout game one, went 2-for-2 with a home run and two walks, proving impossible for the New York’s pitching staff to get out this game.
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The Yankees look forward to an ALDS matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, with game one starting on Saturday, October 3rd at 6:00 p.m.
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