The Yankees took care of the first October assignment in familiar fashion, knocking the Red Sox out of the postseason for a second straight year. Luis García Jr. supplied the early jolt and Cody Bellinger delivered the late knockout blow in a 9-2 win Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
New York swept the two-game American League Wild Card Series and moves on to face the Rays in the AL Division Series. Game 1 is set for Saturday at Tropicana Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Quick facts
- Yankees 9, Red Sox 2 in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series.
- Max Fried worked six innings and allowed one run.
- Luis García Jr. hit an early home run after being acquired from the Nationals in August.
- Cody Bellinger drove in four runs, including a three-run homer in a six-run sixth inning.
- New York will open the ALDS against Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Fried followed the tone set by Cam Schlittler in the series opener, keeping Boston quiet through six innings. The left-hander allowed Willson Contreras’ sixth-inning homer, the Red Sox’s first postseason run in 26 innings dating back to Game 2 of last year’s Wild Card Series in the Bronx.
Sonny Gray, facing his former club, kept the Yankees contained until García changed the game in the fourth. García’s homer produced the first damage against Gray, who gave up two runs before departing in the fifth to a loud Yankee Stadium sendoff.
García was brought in to add power while Aaron Judge remains on the injured list, and he has done exactly that. The New York-born outfielder, who moved to the Dominican Republic as a young child and grew up a Yankees fan, finished the regular season with 30 homers; seven came after his August trade from Washington.
Bellinger had already enjoyed a family moment before the game, receiving the ceremonial first pitch from his father, Clay. He then opened the fifth against Erik Miller with an RBI single, continuing a rough postseason introduction for the Boston left-hander.
Miller had also allowed Ben Rice’s leadoff homer in Game 1. The Yankees kept pressing after Bellinger’s hit, then turned the sixth into a full-blown rout.
Ten Yankees came to the plate in the inning. Rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. collected his first postseason RBI, Austin Wells and Ryan McMahon added run-scoring hits, and Bellinger finished the surge by driving Garrett Whitlock’s changeup into the seats for a three-run homer.
Boston managed another late homer from Nick Sogard, but the series had already tilted decisively toward the home dugout. The Yankees now head to Tampa Bay with their rivalry business settled and a longer October path in front of them.
