“Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But the Sox are taking a Greyhound
Up the Hudson River Line
They’re in a New York state of mind,” – Apologies to Billy Joel
BRONX – (Wire Service Report) – New York’s Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer during a six-run sixth inning and finished with four RBIs as the Yankees pulled away for a 9-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday and a two-game sweep of an American League wild-card series.
The Yankees beat the Red Sox in the wild-card round for the second straight year and were significantly more prolific at the plate than last year, when they needed three games to advance.
Despite the absence of Aaron Judge, who has a strained right calf, New York scored 18 runs and totaled 26 hits in the series to advance to the AL Division Series against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays. The best-of-five ALDS begins Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“That was very satisfying to play that well in these two games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the win. “ … Just really pleased with how we played. Obviously, we’re really going to enjoy that and excited to get our shot at a really good Tampa club.”
Bellinger capped New York’s big inning by hitting a 1-0 changeup from Garrett Whitlock into the right-center-field seats after the Red Sox opted to intentionally walk Ben Rice. The blast pushed New York’s lead to 8-1.
“That was a cool moment. I feel like I was able to enjoy that one,” Bellinger said. “Just a home game in Yankee Stadium, it’s a really fun atmosphere, it’s fun to play (here) and hopefully we get many, many more this month.”
In the fifth, Bellinger chopped an RBI single against left-hander Erik Miller over second baseman Nick Sogard’s head to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
New York’s Max Fried (1-0) followed Cam Schlittler’s dominance in the series opener by allowing one run on three hits in six innings on Wednesday. Fried struck out six and walked one.
“Being able to celebrate with your teammates after a playoff series win, it doesn’t get old,” Fried said. “This is what we start practicing in February for. This is where we want to be. So just about playing our game, having fun and hopefully we’ve got a couple more of these that we can do.”
Luis Garcia Jr. also homered for the Yankees, connecting against Sonny Gray’s 1-2 sweeper while leading off the fourth to open the scoring.
The Yankees sent 10 to the plate against Garrett Crochet and Whitlock in their big inning, getting things started with rookie Spencer Jones hustling around the bases.
Jones started things by reaching on a wild-pitch strikeout when he beat catcher Adley Rutschman’s throw by a step on a call that was overturned on replay after the Yankees challenged. Jones then stole second, advanced to third on Rutschman’s throwing error and scored on George Lombard Jr.’s single.
After singles by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham loaded the bases, Whitlock replaced Crochet. Austin Wells lifted a sacrifice fly, and Ryan McMahon followed with a soft RBI groundout for a 5-1 lead.
“They swung the bats extremely well. You’ve got to give them credit. It was frustrating,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “ … Both nights it kind of started to accumulate late in the game.”
Willson Contreras homered off Fried in the sixth, and Nick Sogard homered off Will Warren in the seventh for Boston’s only runs of the season.
Wells added an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
Gray (0-1) allowed two runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts and no walks. Crochet made his first appearance since April 25, having recovered from a shoulder ailment, and was charged with four runs without recording an out.
The Red Sox finished with seven hits in the series and experienced a disappointing end to a season where they overcame firing their manager in April and having a 32-46 record in late June. Boston vaulted into playoff contention with a 32-5 surge that included a 15-game winning streak but struggled at the plate in the final month.
–Field Level Media