BRONX, NY — Well, it’s Groundhog Day again in the Bronx, and the New York Yankees are storming into the American League Division Series after disposing of the Boston Red Sox for a second straight year in the Wild Card round, capping off a dominant two-game sweep with a 9-2 beatdown of their Eastern Division rivals on Wednesday night.
And it all felt like a re-run of the night before.
Max Fried picked up where Cam Schlittler left off, the veteran southpaw going six innings while allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts one night after the young right-hander struck out 10 over 6.1 scoreless innings. The bats, just like on Tuesday, too, came alive late, answering a five-run eighth inning in Game 1 with a six-run sixth inning in Game 2, capped off by a Cody Bellinger three-run home run.
It was one of two Bronx Bombs on the night — Luis Garcia Jr. getting things started in the fourth inning.
“That was very satisfying to play that well in these two games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And that’s what it was. They played great and beat a really good team that deserves a lot of credit for being down and out in the middle of the season and fought their way back to being a no-doubt into the playoffs by the end.”
As explosive as the offense was, it was the Yankees’ pitching that headlined their fourth postseason series win in the last three years. The Red Sox became just the eighth team to score two runs or fewer in this current best-of-three Wild Card Series format. Their seven hits are tied for the fewest in a Wild Card round with the 2020 Minnesota Twins.
What began as a pitcher’s duel devolved when Red Sox starter Sonny Gray blinked first in the fourth inning, when he served up a meatball of a sweeper that Garcia went down and golfed 387 feet into the bleachers in right-center field — the first postseason home run of the first baseman’s career.
Like his compatriot Payton Tolle the night before, Gray got a premature hook from manager Chad Tracy that practically mirrored the skipper’s befuddling decision-making 24 hours earlier. In Game 1, Tracy pulled Tolle after two quick outs in the fifth inning and on 83 pitches for left-handed reliever Erik Miller, who gave up a solo home run to Ben Rice to make it a 2-0 game.
In Game 2, he pulled Gray with two outs in the fifth inning of a 1-0 game on 70 pitches with runners at the corners for Miller. This time, Bellinger roped a single that scored Austin Wells to double New York’s advantage.
“Just the same thing, we’re trailing,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “We’re struggling to score runs, and when you get in spots where you’re struggling to score runs, and you’re already trailing, you feel like you’ve got to be aggressive and go… We couldn’t stop the bleeding there.”
The decision loomed all the larger in the top of the sixth when Willson Contreras finally got Boston’s first run of the series, lining a full-count four-seamer above the zone 375 feet the opposite way, just skimming over the right-center field wall.
The Yankees got the run right back and then some in the bottom of the frame — the back-breaking inning sparked by poor fundamentals by the Red Sox. Spencer Jones led off the inning by striking out, but Garret Crochet’s wild pitch skittered away from catcher Adley Rutschman, giving the rookie a chance to break for first.
Rutschman’s throw was true, but Contreras was playing parallel with the bag, even receiving the throw behind it, allowing Jones to reach base. Jones then stole second, and a poor throw by Rutschman that rolled into center field allowed him to go to third. He came into score on George Lombard Jr.’s single, the fellow rookie’s fourth hit of the Wild Card Series.
“That was great hustle,” Bellinger said. “Baseball is such a crazy game. Anytime you get on base, that was really impressive and lit a fire in our dugout for sure.”
It got worse for the BoSox. Jazz Chisholm singled, then Trent Grisham’s bunt up the third-base line was spiked by Caleb Durbin, loading the bases with no one out. That was all for Crochet, who was making his first appearance since April 25 because of a shoulder injury.
Against Garrett Whitlock, Wells picked up his second RBI of the series with a sacrifice fly, then Ryan McMahon’s groundout scored Jazz Chisholm Jr. After walking Rice, Bellinger jumped on a 1-0 changeup and looped it into the first row of the right-field seats to cap off the monster inning and seal Boston’s fate.
“That was a cool moment,” Bellinger said. “I feel like I was able to enjoy that one. Just a home game in Yankee Stadium, it’s a really fun atmosphere. It’s fun to play. And hopefully we get many, many more this month.”
The Yankees will meet another division rival, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the ALDS, with Game 1 of the best-of-five in St. Petersburg set for Saturday.
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