After six long months of competition, the Major League Baseball season reaches its climax. The playoffs get underway on Tuesday with the Wild Card games in both circuits, in which eight teams will be vying to advance to the Divisional Series, where Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto and Seattle are already waiting.
And this wild card round has reserved us the great classic between the Yankees and Red Sox, two colossi in the American League East. The rivalry will have a new episode, now in the Bronx, where the Bombers will host their traditional opponent with a desire to avenge the multiple blows they received in 2025. In addition, they will seek to break a 22-year drought without beating Boston in a playoff series.
Honours
- Boston Red Sox: 9 World Series, 14 American League titles. It is the team that has won the most championships in the present century (4) along with the San Francisco Giants.
- New York Yankees: 27 World Series, 41 American League titles. The winningest team in history has gone 15 years without a title, its second-worst streak in the last 100 years.
Head-to-head
- Historic matchup: 1,249 wins for the Yankees, 1,037 wins for the Red Sox and 14 ties in regular season.
- Showdown in 2025: The Red Sox dominated the head-to-head 9-4, with 66 runs scored and 51 allowed.
- Postseason meetings: They have met in five postseason series, with two wins for the Yankees (1999 and 2003) and three for the Red Sox (2004, 2018 and 2021). The win-loss record in these five matchups is tied at 12-12. As a curious detail, of the five playoff series they have held, the winner of four of them has then gone on to the World Series.
- Home advantage: The Yankees have a 675-467 record when playing host to the Red Sox, although in 2025 Boston won five of the seven games they played at Yankee Stadium.
The stars
Garret Crochet (Red Sox): A firm Cy Young candidate after a classic ace season. The left-hander was a workhorse, leading the American League with 205.1 innings of work. He was also MLB’s undisputed leader with 255 strikeouts, the most by a Boston starter since 2017 (Chris Sale-308). Against the Yankees, he earned three wins in four starts, with 39 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. However, he allowed ten earned runs and five home runs, details to watch now that the New Yorkers seem to be adjusting with the bat.
Aaron Judge (Yankees): He once again proved that he is the best hitter in baseball today without a doubt. In 2025, he led the Majors in average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, OPS+ and intentional walks, as well as leading the American League in runs scored, free passes and total bases. In addition, “The Judge” joined the immortals Mickey Mantle and Jimmie Foxx as the only players in history to win the batting title with a 50+ home run season. He hit five homers in 13 games against Boston, with an OPS of 1.008, although he struck out 22 times in 56 plate appearances.
The keys
The Yankees had not had two pitchers with 18+ wins and an ERA below 3.10 since 1979, when Ron Guidry and Tommy John put up stellar numbers. Now Max Fried and Carlos Rodon have repeated the feat and appear to be the Bombers’ winning cards for this classic against the Red Sox. The left-handers will be relied upon for much of the team’s chances of success.
However, for the Yankees, the key will be the response of their bullpen, which has been very hesitant at various stages of the season, as well as maintaining offensive dynamism and not relying exclusively on power hitting. Boston, on the other hand, has a less experienced squad but one with plenty of ambition and confidence after dominating their eternal rivals for much of the season. It would be no surprise if they come out celebrating at Yankee Stadium.
Prediction
Yankees win 2-1
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