Red Sox-Yankees: Game 1 live updates
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Red Sox 3, Yankees 1: Bregman drives in Story — 8:57 p.m.
There are still a couple hours left before the start of October, but Alex Bregman has arrived — the Sox third baseman tacks on a crucial insurance run with a two-out double down the left field line, bringing home Trevor Story to give the Sox a 3-1 lead in the leading of the ninth. — Amin Touri
In career postseason game No. 100, Bregman drives in his 55th career postseason run — 8th all-time. — Alex Speier
Chapman closes out the eighth — 8:45 p.m.
It wasn’t easy, but Aroldis Chapman closes out the eighth.
Anthony Volpe advanced to second after Chapman threw over to first too many times, then the Red Sox narrowly averted disaster in the outfield when Wilyer Abreu cut off Ceddanne Rafaela on a fly ball and they nearly collided as he made the catch.
Boston breathes a sigh of relief, and Game 1 goes to the ninth with the Sox leading, 2-1. — Amin Touri
Crochet’s night ends with a flourish on 11th strikeout — 8:38 p.m.
Crochet’s 117th pitch of the night punches out Austin Wells — his 11th strikeout of the night — to cap off a brilliant Game 1 performance. Crochet’s final line: 7 2/3 innings, four hits, one run, 11 strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman is coming on a for a potential four-out slash, protecting a 2-1 lead in the Bronx. — Amin Touri
Crochet is the 5th Red Sox pitcher ever with 10-plus strikeouts in a playoff game, and the first since Josh Beckett in Game 5 of the ALCS against Cleveland in ’07.
His 112th pitch of the game was his hardest to that point — 99.1 mph.
Then came his final pitch: 100.2 mph, tied for the hardest he’s thrown a pitch as a member of the Red Sox. His 11 strikeouts are tied for 2nd most ever by a Red Sox in a postseason outing. — Alex Speier
Well, this is an ominous note … — 8:30 p.m.
Crochet is back for the 8th. This is the first time a Red Sox starter has remained in the game into the 8th inning of a postseason game at Yankee Stadium since … Pedro in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Crochet is at 100 pitches. — Alex Speier
Crochet coming back out for B8 — 8:29 p.m.
The Red Sox can’t capitalize on a leadoff walk from Carlos Narvaez as Devin Williams sets down the next three betters in the leading of the eighth. Garrett Crochet will be back on the mound for at least one batter in the bottom of the eighth, having thrown 100 pitches and set down 16 in a row with the Sox leading, 2-1. — Amin Touri
Crochet’s at 100 through 7 — 8:22 p.m.
Another 1-2-3 inning makes 16 consecutive retired batters for Garrett Crochet, who’s through seven innings on 100 pitches on the dot. You have to imagine Cora will at least let him pitch to lefty Trent Grisham to open the eighth — and perhaps beyond — amid another typically dominant start in a crucial game. — Amin Touri
Mid-7: Red Sox take the lead — 8:15 p.m.
Nathaniel Lowe nearly breaks the game open with a hard liner to right, but just can’t elevate the ball over the head of 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge, who snags it to end the inning.
A huge frame for the Red Sox, who lead 2-1 after Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single gave Boston its first lead of Game 1. — Amin Touri
How’s this for a stat — 8:10 p.m.
Yoshida is the first Red Sox pinch-hitter ever to have a swing that turned a deficit into a lead in the postseason. — Alex Speier
Red Sox 2, Yankees 1: Yoshida hits two-run single — 8:05 p.m.
It didn’t take long for the Red Sox to get to the bullpen — Masataka Yoshida comes off the bench to drive the first pitch he sees from Luke Weaver into center field, driving in Ceddanne Rafaela and Nick Sogard to give Boston a 2-1 lead. — Amin Touri
“Coralytics” (a term coined by Scott Boras in 2018 to capture an incredible run of pinch-hitting and bullpen decisions) appears back. Yoshida’s two-run pinch-banger single gives the Sox a 2-1 lead, and the sizable contingent of Red Sox fans along the 3B line erupts.
Incidentally: There’s no one warming in the Red Sox bullpen right today. Crochet looks like he’ll have the 7th (at least for Bellinger).
Ceddanne Rafaela’s 11-pitch at-bat — a walk against Weaver — was tied for the longest of his career. He also had an 11-pitch at-bat last year against Kaleb Ort.
Nick Sogard has been pushing the envelope against the Yankees outfield. After an earlier advance from first to second on a flyball to center, he hustled for a double to right — exploiting the fact that Judge can’t throw. — Alex Speier
Fried yanked in the seventh — 7:55 p.m.
Jarren Duran can’t beat out an infield single to open the seventh, and that’ll do it for Max Fried. The Yankees lefthander was brilliant in Game 1, with a final line of 6⅓ innings, zero runs, four hits, three walks, and six strikeouts as the Sox bats could never find any sort of rhythm against the three-time All-Star. Righthander Luke Weaver will take over out of the bullpen for New York. — Amin Touri
Can anyone explain the logic of the Yankees piping in the sound of Darth Vader’s deep breathing when Luke Weaver gets an opponent to a two-strike count? Like, wouldn’t it make more sense to have Luke whining about power converters? — Alex Speier
Crochet strikes out Judge to end sixth — 7:51 p.m.
A couple hard banger balls for the Yankees in that inning but Garrett Crochet gets out of it unscathed, striking out Aaron Judge on a cutter away to end the sixth. The lefthander has put away 13 in a row as he does his best to keep the Sox alive in Game 1 with the bats struggling — the Yankees still lead, 1-0, after six innings. — Amin Touri
Crochet punches out Judge for his 9th strikeout of the game. This is the 9th instance ever of a Red Sox pitcher with 9-plus strikeouts in a playoff game. The last to do it: David rate, in Game 5 of the 2018 ALCS. — Alex Speier
Fried up to 99 pitches — 7:43 p.m.
The Red Sox just can’t get to Max Fried, who is today through six scoreless innings in Game 1.
Carlos Narváez worked a lengthy at-bat for a walk and Nate Eaton fought one off back up the middle, but with the infielders at double-play depth, second baseman Amed Rosario took it himself and fired to first for the double play. Fried is up to 99 pitches in this pitchers’ duel at Yankee Stadium — he’ll likely at least get the chance to face lefty Jarren Duran to start the seventh before Aaron Boone starts thinking about his bullpen.
Crochet in good company with 8Ks — 7:35 p.m.
Crochet is the 18th Red Sox pitcher ever with 8 strikeouts in a game. The single-game postseason punchout record by a Red Sox pitcher is 12 by Pedro against the Yankees in ’99. — Alex Speier
Garrett Crochet strikes out the side (again) — 7:33 p.m.
Garrett Crochet is dealing today, striking out the side — his sixth, seventh, and eighth Ks of the evening — to bring his retired batter streak to 10. He needed 18 pitches to get through the fifth, and with 81 pitches already to his name, Crochet might only have another inning or two in the tank tonight. — Amin Touri
Fried at 79 pitches — 7:26 p.m.
Fried is at 79 pitches through five innings, and is in the middle of his third time through the lineup. That said, he’s generally had wipeout stuff in his third time through the order this year (27 percent strikeout rate — up from 22 percent in his first 2x through the order) and his season-high is 111 pitches. — Alex Speier
The game within the game right today: How soon can the Red Sox get into the Yankees’ bullpen (which was better down the stretch but still has a recent history of absolutely melting down)?
Max Fried is up to 79 pitches through five innings. That includes 42 pitches in the past two.
Is he good for one more inning? Two?
If the Sox can work him hard in the sixth, they could get three cracks against relievers. — Tim Healey
Red Sox leave two more on base — 7:23 p.m.
The Red Sox let another chance with runners in scoring position go to waste, as Alex Bregman grounds out on a chopper to third to strand two more baserunners.
Yankees lefthander Max Fried is through five shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five, but he’s had to navigate some trouble with two outs in back-to-back innings after surrendering a walk to Rob Refsnyder and an infield single to Trevor Story in that frame. — Amin Touri
Abraham: One thing that’s not surprising, and one that is — 7:19 p.m.
This game has played out as expected with the two ace pitchers dominating. Crochet threw 63 pitches through four innings and Fried 61. Each team has three hits. The difference is one of them was a homer by Anthony Volpe.
The biggest surprise for me are the many empty seats at Yankee Stadium. It’s hard to imagine a playoff game not selling out here but that seems to be the case. — Peter Abraham
Another 1-2-3 for Crochet — 7:12 p.m.
Back-to-back 1-2-3 innings for Garrett Crochet, who has set down seven straight batters since giving up that solo shot to Anthony Volpe. The lefthander has thrown 63 pitches through four innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks as Boston trails 1-0, heading to the fifth. — Amin Touri
Fried escapes third, Sox leave two on base — 7:05 p.m.
It’s Max Fried’s turn to work out of a jam, as the big lefthander gets Jarren Duran swinging at an elevated sweeper to strand runners at second and third.
Carlos Narvaez worked a walk on a few borderline pitches, then reached third base on a two-out, bloop double from Nate Eaton that put two runners in scoring position for the Sox for the first time tonight. Duran was ahead in the count, 3 and 0, but took a pair of strikes before fanning on a high breaking ball to let a big chance go to waste for Boston. — Amin Touri
It’s hard to understand how anyone hits. Like, ever. Fried throws six different pitch types, he’s topped out at 99 mph with his fastball, he has a cutter that he generally locates with a dart-thrower’s precision on the two rails, a curveball that is 14 mph slower than his fastball, and pitches that touch every velocity in between. The Sox’ offense has today pushed him to 60 pitches through four innings, but … Fried is a tough go for them. — Alex Speier
Crochet needs 20 pitches to get through third — 6:54 p.m.
A 1-2-3 inning for Garrett Crochet, but not in the most straightforward manner; he needed 20 pitches to get through the bottom of the third, allowing 0 and 2 counts to both Jose Caballero and Paul Goldschmidt to run full before getting each to swing through strike three. A pop fly from Aaron Judge ends the third on a swing the slugger would probably like to have back — a Crochet cutter looked nearly middle-middle, but Judge couldn’t quite put a charge into it. — Amin Touri
Red Sox can’t get a run across — 6:44 p.m.
The Red Sox threaten for the first time but can’t push a run across, as Max Fried gets Trevor Story swinging on back-to-back curveballs to strand Nick Sogard at second.
Sogard got himself into scoring position with a single to left and some heads-up baserunning on a flyout from Rob Refsnyder, but that’s as far as he would get. The Yankees lead, 1-0, heading into the bottom of the third. — Amin Touri
In addition to Alex Bregman being sick in recent days, Trevor Story apparently is under the weather, too. He cited illness as reason not to shake hands with one reporter. Unclear if a bug is going around the clubhouse, but Story hasn’t looked great against Max Fried early on. He has swung and missed at four pitches — out of seven total. — Tim Healey
With a runner on second (the first RISP for the Sox) and two outs, Trevor Story strikes out on three pitches against Fried. Fried used back-to-back curveballs for back-to-back swings-and-misses against Story. In the first at-bat, he went back-to-back on changeups for the strikeout. — Alex Speier
Yanks 1, Sox 0: Volpe puts NY on the board — 6:33 p.m.
Garrett Crochet was one pitch away from closing out a straightforward second inning, but left a 1-2 fastball to Anthony Volpe caught too much of the plate and the Yankees’ shortstop belted it over the wall in right field to open the scoring. The Yankees lead, 1-0, after two innings in the Bronx. — Amin Touri
Anthony Volpe lines a two-out, two-strike sinker (97 mph) into the rightfield bleachers for a solo homer. This wasn’t just a Yankee Stadium shot — it would’ve been out in 29 of 30 ballparks. The exception? Fenway. — Tim Healey
Sox go down in order — 6:27 p.m.
The Sox go down 1-2-3 in the leading of the second. Carlos Narvaez struck out on a Max Fried changeup before Nate Eaton and Jarren Duran each grounded out, with Fried needing just nine pitches to get through that inning. — Amin Touri
Thanks to a Jarren Duran grounder that carried all of 70 feet in the air (for a 6-3), the average distance of the five Sox balls in play against Max Fried is today 21 feet. — Alex Speier
Crochet works out of a jam, Stanton grounds into DP — 6:21 p.m.
Garrett Crochet works out of a first-inning jam, striking out Cody Bellinger and getting Giancarlo Stanton to ground into a double play after surrendering a pair of base hits. Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge each singled to open the inning, but the Yankees strand two in the bottom of the first. — Amin Touri
Crochet threw 6 pitches of 98+ mph in the first inning. That’s more than he threw in all but 6 of his starts (across all his innings — not just the first) this year. — Alex Speier
Mid-1: Red Sox 0, Yankees 0 — 6:14 p.m.
Alex Bregman’s two-out single is all the offense the Red Sox can muster in the leading of the first, as Romy Gonzalez grounds out to third to end the inning. Strong start for Yankees lefthander Max Fried, who has his changeup working early in this one. — Amin Touri
The average “ball flight” of the Red Sox’ three balls in play against Max Fried in the leading of the first inning: 11 feet. Refsnyder (8 feet) and Gonzalez (13 feet) grounded out, while Bregman grounded a single (12 feet from the plate when it banger the ground) through the right side. — Alex Speier
And we’re off — 6:08 p.m.
Rob Refsnyder grounds out on the first pitch, and Game 1 is underway at Yankee Stadium.
Why coaches must stay in their boxes — 6:05 p.m.
By Alex Speier
We just had the pre-game lineup card exchange. MLB was planning to have all umpires remind teams during the exchange that, by rule, base coaches are supposed to stay in the coaches’ boxes. Here’s why they’re offering that reminder.
It’s worth noting: Umpires are probably not going to enforce the rule unless asked to do so by the manager of either team.
Cora’s platoon approach is nothing new — 6:00 p.m.
Tim Healey
Why roll with Nate Eaton in right field and Nick Sogard at second base (in addition to playing Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder against lefthander Max Fried)?
That is the sort of thing that got the Red Sox to the playoffs to begin with.
“We have been doing this since ’18,” Cora said. “I would love to have nine horses and roll with them. That’s not the case. We have to manage the team. Like I said before, we have a good team. We will mix and match. We will be doing the things we have been doing throughout the season. Let’s see where we are at at the end of the night.”
Early boos for Bregman — 5:50 p.m.
Alex Speier
During introductions, the boos for Bregman surpassed those for Cora. It’s actually surprising that Bregman has only played eight postseason games at Yankee Stadium.
There still appear to be plenty of face-benefit tickets available for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
Peter Abraham’s pregame notes — 5:45 p.m.
Peter Abraham
A few notes I have jotted down before the game:
▪ Alex Cora is 17-8 in the postseason. Aaron Boone is 22-23.
▪ Yankees starter Max Fried is 2-5 with a 5.10 ERA in seven postseason games and has allowed 10 home runs over 67 innings.
▪ Aroldis Chapman has a 2.37 ERA in 44 career postseason appearances. He has 10 saves in 14 chances. Chapman has faced the Yankees seven times this season and allowed one run on two hits over six innings with five strikeouts and no walks.
▪ Aaron Judge is a .205 hitter with a .768 OPS in 58 postseason games. He does have 16 homers and 34 RBIs.
The Globe staff’s players to series in Game 1 — 5:35 p.m.
Here’s who the Globe reporters and columnists are keeping an eye on.
Red Sox
Jarren Duran. He had a couple of huge hits in late September but overall didn’t do much down the stretch. Alex Cora is sticking with Duran against lefthanded Max Fried — whose presence on the mound forced Duran to the bench during the teams’ most recent meeting — in large part because defense in left field is so important at Yankee Stadium. If Duran is able to contribute offensively, especially early, the Red Sox will be cooking with gas. — Tim Healey
Rob Refsnyder: Alex Cora said earlier this month that Refsnyder was going to come up in a big spot in the postseason. It could be in Game 1. — Peter Abraham
Justin Slaten: The ability to control Aaron Judge and the Yankees’ righties in the middle innings could be pivotal, which will in turn test the Sox’ bullpen depth beyond Chapman and Whitlock. Slaten was excellent over the final two weeks, and will have to be in this series for the Sox to control the Yankees offense. — Alex Speier
Yankees
Aaron Judge. It’s not the most creative thought, but it’s true. Judge put together another monster season — he may well be the AL MVP again — including a September for which he was named AL Player of the Month. But he has a history of going cold when it matters most, on this postseason stage, most recently when the Yankees flailed in the 2024 World Series against the Dodgers. So Judge is a gigantic threat, literally and figuratively. If he stays hot, the Sox are in trouble. — Tim Healey
Cody Bellinger: He has been a poor postseason hitter (.211 with a .661 OPS in 69 games). At some point that has to change and he’s 5 of 14 with a homer against Garrett Crochet. — Peter Abraham
Aaron Judge: Let’s go for the obvious. No player in the series can impact the game like he can. — Alex Speier
How long will Crochet go? — 5:25 p.m.
Alex Speier
The Tigers were willing to push the limit with Tarik Skubal in his incredible Game 1 start today, allowing him to throw 107 pitches — the second most in any start of his career.
Crochet threw as many as 112 pitches in a start this year for the Red Sox, and it’ll be fascinating to see how far the Sox are willing to push him — both because he’s really good, and because the team has to be ready to lean hard on the bullpen in Game 2 or a potential Game 3.
That said, it’s worth noting that in his 25 postseason games as a Red Sox manager, Alex Cora has never had a pitcher throw more than 97 pitches.
Bregman feeling ‘much better’ after illness — 5:15 p.m.
Tim Healey
Alex Bregman is feeling “much better,” Alex Cora said, after being sick in recent days — and spending most of Sunday/Monday away from the club in case he was contagious. That included taking a car from Boston to New York instead of hopping on the plane.
Tonight is also Bregman’s 100th career playoff game. October (or, ahem, Sept. 30) is a big reason the Red Sox brought signed him.
“That’s the reason we wanted him. That’s the reason he picked us,” Cora said. “And today is his 100th game in October, or in the playoffs. A great career. He has been a game-changer in the postseason, and we expect the same thing.”
Cora: No baseball activities for Roman Anthony — 5:00 p.m.
It’s looking less and less likely that the Red Sox will get rookie sensation Roman Anthony back at any point this October, as manager Alex Cora said pregame Tuesday that Anthony still has some way to go in his recovery process.
“Roman’s feeling better, but no baseball activities,” Cora said.
Anthony has been on the shelf since Sept. 2, when the young slugger strained his oblique in a game against the Guardians.
Tarik Skubal’s 14 strikeouts propel Tigers past Guardians — 4:10 p.m.
The Associated Press
Tarik Skubal tied Detroit’s postseason record with 14 strikeouts and the Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians, 2-1, on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series.
Will Vest got the final four outs for Detroit, surviving a tense ninth inning after Cleveland star Jose Ramírez got hung up between third base and home for the second out.
The Tigers can advance to the Division Series for the second straight year with a win Wednesday.
Detroit scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when Zach McKinstry’s safety squeeze scored Riley Greene from third.
Cora pregame: No Giolito in October — 4:00 p.m.
By Amin Touri
Alex Cora told reporters that Lucas Giolito likely won’t pitch in October, but that early indications are that there is no structural damage to the righthander’s elbow.
“I’m not 100 percent sure where we’re at, but from everything I’m hearing, there’s no structural damage, which is great,” Cora said. “There’s a slim chance he can pitch, so, rule him out, probably. I think, from a personal standpoint, that’s good for him, it’s hard to have surgery going to the offseason, so hopefully that’s right.”
Cora also said lefthander Connelly Early is the most likely candidate to start a potential Game 3 on Thursday.
A milestone for Bregman — 3:45 p.m.
By Peter Abraham
Once Alex Bregman takes the field tonight he will join the list of players who have appeared in 100+ postseason games.
- Derek Jeter: 158
- Jorge Posada: 125
- Bernie Williams: 121
- David Justice: 112
- Manny Ramirez: 111
- Jose Altuve: 105
- Yadier Molina: 105
- Alex Bregman: 100
Giolito unavailable for wild-card series — 3:30 p.m.
By Tim Healey
Lucas Giolito’s periodically problematic right elbow has presented a new issue, sidelining him for the Red Sox’ Wild Card Series against the Yankees this week, and creating questions about who might pitch in his place.
What the Red Sox know: Giolito fought through discomfort in recent starts, during which his velocity was down. Initially, the righthander and the team chalked it up to fatigue near the end of a long season, especially after he missed all of last season following major elbow surgery.
When it felt worse during a bullpen session over the weekend, however, they cut it short and decided it was time to “circle back with the doctors who have the most familiarity with the case,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said.
So Giolito went Monday to see Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, the Alabama-based orthopedic surgeon who did Giolito’s internal brace procedure in March 2024.
Giolito also had Tommy John surgery in 2012.
“Hopefully, it’s nothing major,” manager Alex Cora said.
Breslow described the symptoms as coming on gradually.
“It started to get to a place where we need to figure out what’s going on here,” he said. “At this point, though, you feel for Gio, just given all that he’s been through the last couple of years and everything that he did to put himself in a position to help our team and the way that he has all season. On a personal level, you feel badly [for] a guy who did everything he possibly could to help the team and wants nothing more than to be able to help the team in the postseason.”
Charts: How hard do the Red Sox banger the ball? — 3:15 p.m.
By Julian Benbow
Romy Gonzalez put more than 200 balls in play this season and the average launch speed was 93.3 miles per hour. No one put a more consistent hurting on the ball than he did . . . until Roman Anthony arrived in June.
Anthony was immediately inserted into the middle of the lineup and almost instantly was the Sox’ hardest hitter, with pitches flying off his bat at an average of 94.5 m.p.h. How it happens, Anthony explained, is a matter of all the preparation before he steps onto the field, let alone into the batter’s box.
While the highest average launch speeds belong to Gonzalez and Anthony, leading-end exit velocity is all Jarren Duran. Whether it’s a homer screaming into the stands or an out so loud it still echoes as he walks back to the dugout, all of the Sox’ hardest-banger balls this season came off Duran’s bat.
Read more about why it matters from Julian Benbow here.
Red Sox fans shut out as Yankees restrict ticket sales — 3:00 p.m.
By Yogev Toby
As if you needed another reason to hate the Yankees…
Most New England baseball fans hoping to attend the Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card series in New York have been shut out of tickets on Ticketmaster per the orders of the Evil Empire. Ticketmaster is only selling playoff tickets to people living in New York and contiguous states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
“Sales to this event will be restricted,” read a message on Ticketmaster’s website. “Orders by residents outside New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
Tickets to the game were available for as low as $75 on Ticketmaster, as of midday Tuesday. But any fan from Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island who wants to attend the game will need to go to secondary sales sites such as StubHub, where tickets start at $200.
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster said the decision to limit ticket sales came from the Yankees management.
Crochet has Judge’s number: Breaking down the Yankees lineup — 2:55 p.m.
By Alex Speier
As for the Yankees: In a shocking twist, Judge is playing against Crochet. Judge has struck out 10 times this year against Crochet — tied for the most in his career against any single pitcher in any single season. He also whiffed 10 times against Chris Sale in 2017. Paul Goldschmidt will lead off with a lefty on the mound, and Jazz Chisholm sits with Amed Rosario at second, Caballero at third, and Volpe at short.
Yankees lineup: Goldschmidt 1B, Judge RF, Bellinger LF, Stanton DH, Rosario 2B, Grisham CF, Volpe SS, Wells C, Caballero 3B
A surprise in the Sox lineup — 2:45 p.m.
By Alex Speier
And we have our first (mild) surprise with the lineup: Given the dominance of Yankees starter Max Fried against lefties, the Sox have elected not only to lead off with Rob Refsnyder, and not only to have Nate Eaton in the lineup in right instead of Wilyer Abreu, but also to have Nick Sogard at second base, with Romy Gonzalez at first and Nate Lowe sitting.
That said, the Sox started all righties (or switch-hitters) against Fried in the matchup in September, so it’s not a massive upset, but Lowe had been facing tough lefties recently.
Max Fried’s splits — .226/.281/.317 vs righties, .209/.282/.391 vs lefties — make the thoroughness of the Sox’ pivot to righties a bit surprising. BUT, Fried has a 30% strikeout rate against lefties, and 22% against righties. So for a Sox team that likely needs to lean on putting the ball in play, the righties give them a better shot to do so.
Sox lineup: Refsnyder DH, Story SS, Bregman 3B, Gonzalez 1B, Narváez C, Eaton RF, Duran LF, Rafaela CF, Sogard 2B
Speier: Throw the records out the window — 2:35 p.m.
By Alex Speier
Here’s to ignorance! We know nothing about what will happen. No three-game series has a predictable outcome, let alone one between two playoff-caliber teams.
To wit: Since the introduction the current format of the Wild Card Series in 2022, the home team entering today had a 10-16 record. The perceived advantages — better record, better team, better home or road record, platoon splits — largely go out the window in the three-game format. It’s as simple as: Who will play better in a tiny window?
So: as intriguing as it is to look at the relative states of the Red Sox and Yankees, the next three games in Yankee Stadium will assume a life of their own — and hopefully provide something as memorable and enduring as the past October meetings of the two teams.
Shaughnessy: Does it get any better than this? — 2:30 p.m.
It’s just too good.
The Red Sox are in the playoffs Tuesday for the first time in four years, only the second time since they won the World Series in 2018 . . . and they are playing a best-of-three against the New York Yankees.
Red Sox-Yankees. Again.
Do we need to educate the young’uns and remind everyone what this means?
Red Sox-Yankees is an all-timer. It’s Harvard vs. Yale, Kennedy vs. Nixon, Athens vs. Sparta.
It’s Ohio State-Michigan, Army-Navy, Trump-Comey.
It is the ultimate American sports rivalry and we are getting it in the first round of baseball’s ever-expanding playoffs.
Strap yourselves in for two (possibly three) nights of hard-ball history and histrionics. This could be great. Enjoy the ride.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier. Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey. Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.
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