Yankees Sweep Red Sox in AL Wild Card, Advance to Face Rays
New York outscores Boston 18-2 over two games and punches its ticket to the AL Division Series for a matchup with Tampa Bay.
The New York Yankees advance.
On Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-2 in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series, completing a two-game sweep. Max Fried delivered six strong innings, Luis García Jr. and Cody Bellinger homered, and New York’s offense erupted for six runs in the sixth inning to put the series away.
The Yankees, the AL’s No. 4 seed, will face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Saturday at Tropicana Field. Aaron Judge missed the series with a calf injury and remains questionable for the next round.
Game Recap
The first three innings were scoreless. García Jr. broke the deadlock with a leadoff home run in the fourth off Sonny Gray. Bellinger added an RBI single in the fifth after Gray was pulled, making it 2-0.
Willson Contreras homered in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 2-1, ending a 26-inning postseason scoreless streak for Boston that dated to last year’s Wild Card Series against the Yankees. New York answered immediately. Spencer Jones reached on a wild-pitch strikeout, and the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate in a six-run inning capped by Bellinger’s three-run home run off Garrett Whitlock. The final score was 9-2.
The series results: Yankees 9-0 in Game 1 on Tuesday, 9-2 in Game 2 on Wednesday. New York outscored Boston 18-2 and outhit them 26-7 across the two games.
Rivalry and Recent History
This is the second straight year the Yankees have eliminated the Red Sox in the Wild Card round. Last season the series went the full three games. This time it was never close. Boston’s offense managed just seven hits total and a .117 batting average in the series.
Fried improved to 1-0 in the postseason this year, allowing one run on three hits over six innings and striking out six. García Jr., acquired at the trade deadline, had three hits in his first postseason start. Bellinger finished with four RBIs.
Playoff Picture
With the sweep, the Yankees advance to face the Rays. The ALDS opens Saturday in St. Petersburg.
Status of the other Wild Card Series as of Thursday morning:
AL: Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros 2-0 and will face the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.
NL: San Diego Padres swept the Chicago Cubs 2-0 and will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.
NL: Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are tied 1-1. Game 3 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Thursday in Atlanta. The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
Division Series play begins Saturday for the teams that have advanced, along with the bye clubs: Rays (AL No. 1), Guardians (AL No. 2), Brewers (NL No. 1), and Dodgers (NL No. 2).
The Yankees handled their oldest rival with authority. Next, they face the team that finished atop the AL East.