“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

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BRONX – (Wire Service Report) – Just when they need their most explosive, young hitter, the season ended for Boston’s outfielder and lead-off hitter Roman Anthony. The Red Sox replaced the injured Anthony on their wild-card series roster with infielder Curtis Mead on Wednesday ahead of Game 2 against the New York Yankees.

Anthony underwent imaging in Boston on Wednesday morning that displayed he had “additional damage to some muscles” in his right hand and wrist, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said prior to Game 2 of the American League series.

Anthony had an injury to the same hand earlier this season that caused him to miss nearly four months. He returned to action Aug. 30.

“I’ve been experiencing some things with the swings and the check swings over the past six weeks,” Anthony said on Wednesday. “Last night just felt a little bit more intense, a little bit more worse than past swings that have been lingering a little bit longer than the ones I was used to.

“It was just super alarming and it got to a point where it was tough to grip a bat,” Anthony added. “I knew then and there that this was a little bit more similar to the one earlier in the year. That’s why we decided to go get imaging.”

Major League Baseball approved the roster change after reviewing the medical information. Anthony will be ineligible to return if the Red Sox reach the AL Division Series, but he will be eligible to play if Boston advances to the AL Championship Series.

Anthony started Tuesday’s 9-0 loss in Game 1 batting leadoff as the designated hitter and struck out in both at-bats — on check swings — against New York’s Cam Schlittler. The hand injury flared up and he couldn’t continue. Anthony was replaced by Andruw Monasterio in the sixth inning.

Tracy was unsure if the 22-year-old Anthony might require hand surgery.

“I don’t know the answer to that yet,” Tracy said. “I just know that the imaging shows more than what was originally there. So as far as what treatment plans are in the future, haven’t gotten there.

“Just midday today I first found out, yeah, there’s more there that we’re not going to have him. We’ll figure it out as we move along.”

Anthony batted .245 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 55 games.

“After I came back, the hand was never really fully a hundred percent,” Anthony said. “For me, it was to a point where it was tolerable and I was taking certain swings that were sketchy and I was still able to come back and recover enough to just be in there every single day, but, ultimately, I just took a few swings here recently where that wasn’t the case.”

Mead was acquired from the Washington Nationals a few days ahead of the trade deadline and sustained a broken left wrist in his first game with the team.

He was hit by a pitch from Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins in the fourth inning of his debut on July 27.

Mead, 25, hit .254 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and 48 RBIs — all career highs – in 87 games with the Nationals before the trade.

–Field Level Media

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BRONX – (Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees believed their starting pitching was strong enough entering the postseason and they possessed just enough offense to consistently win games.

In an impressive all-around showing in the opener of the wild-card series, both came together in a massive way for the Yankees, who hope they do enough again to close out the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 on Wednesday.

New York leads the best-of-three 1-0 and can advance to the division series against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in a best-of-five series that begins Saturday night.

Max Fried will pitch for New York on Wednesday, and if the Yankees close out the series, they can save Gerrit Cole for the opening game of the next round.

After New York’s rotation led the majors with a 3.30 ERA, Cam Schlittler allowed two hits and struck out 10 in 6 1/3 dominant innings against his hometown team before New York scored seven of its runs in the final two innings en route to a 9-0 rout on Tuesday.

Ben Rice, another Massachusetts native, fueled New York’s offense by following his 41-homer season with two homers and six RBIs. Rice hit a solo homer along with a grand slam while tying the team record for RBIs in a postseason game.

“It’s a more confident group, but it’s one game,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said postgame. “… So as much as tonight was a special night here in the Bronx and you could feel that energy, it was electric and so many guys played so well, you enjoy it for a minute. But it’s getting right back after it tomorrow knowing that we’ll have a chance to close it out.”

The Red Sox have lost their past three postseason games to the Yankees, the past two being shutout defeats.

Boston was held to three hits and one walk on Tuesday. Willson Contreras went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts after missing most of the final weeks of the regular season with a hand injury.

The Red Sox may also be without Roman Anthony for Wednesday. The designated hitter exited after two at-bats in Game 1 because of hand and wrist issues that caused him to miss 101 games until returning Aug. 30.

“Now you have to win two in a row, so you’ve got to be aggressive and try to win as many moments as you can because we’ve got to win two games in a row now to keep the season alive,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said.

Fried went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA in the regular season, including a 1-1 mark with a 2.73 ERA in five starts to end the campaign following his second IL stint.

He last pitched in a 6-1 loss against Tampa Bay on Sept. 22, when he allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Fried went 1-0 with an 0.77 ERA in two starts against Boston this season, giving him a 4-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in seven career outings vs. the Red Sox. He threw 6 1/3 shutout innings against Boston in Game 1 of the 2025 wild-card series, which was eventually won by the Red Sox.

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York Yankees starter Cam Schlittler – the most definite Cy Young Award winner since Cy Young – will always be known to the Red Sox as the kid from Walpole and Northeastern who got away. The un-hittable righty lasted until the seventh round and 220th overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft. That means every team had its chance to draft him, to call him one of their own – EVERYBODY.

Schlittler fanned 10 batters in 6 1/3 dominant innings while Ben Rice homered twice and drove in six runs as the New York Yankees pulled away for a 9-0 rout of the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of an American League wild-card series on Tuesday night.

Speaking like a seasoned veteran, the young pitcher noted, “Ben has excelled very well in the organization,” Schlittler said. “He was someone I knew while I was in the minors of how well he was excelling. And, again, it’s great to be teammates with him and have that comfortability being from home. And he’s been dominant all season. It’s very exciting to watch. And I’m glad he can go out there today and get his flowers.”

The Yankees can close out the best-of-three series on Wednesday when Max Fried pitches. Sonny Gray will try to extend Boston’s season to a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.

Nearly a year after fanning 12 and allowing five hits in eight scoreless innings in Game 3 of last year’s wild-card series against Boston, Schlittler (1-0) was equally as sharp in his third career postseason start to help the Yankees take the 1-0 series lead.

Schlittler allowed just three baserunners, two singles and a walk. His 117 pitches were not only a career high but the most by a Yankee in a postseason game since CC Sabathia threw a 121-pitch complete game in Game 5 of the 2012 AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

“They took some tough at-bats against him, I thought, throughout the night that made it hard for him to get super deep,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But he was terrific. Probably his best curveball of the year to go with obviously, I thought, really good command and in control of his heaters.”

Schlittler threw 77 pitches for strikes while going up against the team he grew up rooting for from his home in Walpole.

“Cam was obviously awfully good,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “The fastball shapes are well-documented. He’s throwing hard. He also had a good curveball today that you know it’s there but he used it a little bit more often. He landed it if he wanted to for strikes. He was able to get it beneath for swing and miss. We weren’t able to do much with him.”

Rice, a fellow native of Schlittler’s home state of Massachusetts in nearby Cohasset, hit a solo homer for a 2-0 lead in the fifth off left-handed reliever Erik Miller and added an RBI single in the seventh. He capped a five-run eighth by launching a Grand Slam off Brayan Bello over the right-center-field fence. Rice was a 12th round draft choice (363rd overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft. Again, he was a player everyone but the Yankees passed on.

Rice hit New York’s 16th grand slam in a postseason game and the first since Anthony Volpe hit one in Game 3 of the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rice went 4-for-5 and had New York’s first four-hit postseason game since Gleyber Torres accomplished the feat in Game 1 of the 2020 wild-card series at Cleveland.

“He pummeled pitches all night,” Boone said. “They went after him a little bit and he made them pay. I mean, some great left-on-left at-bats, the double to right-center smoke, the homer out the front door in Monument Park. And an exclamation point there at the end. Just a big-time night by a great hitter.”

Catcher Austin Wells helped Schlittler by winning an ABS challenge on Wilyer Abreu for a called third strike to end the first inning and hit an RBI single with two on in the second against Boston starter Payton Tolle.

Rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits and scored two runs.

Tolle allowed one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out four, walked one and threw 58 of 83 pitches for strikes.

Paul Blackburn (1 2/3 innings) and John Schreiber (one inning) finished the Yankees’ three-hitter.

–Field Level Media

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NEW YORK – (Wire Service Preview) – While Cam Schlittler’s first full season with the New York Yankees was among the best in team history, Payton Tolle delivered a strong rookie campaign for the Boston Red Sox.

Both starting pitchers did more than enough to earn their teams’ trust for Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series that begins Tuesday night.

After the intense Schlittler starts for the Yankees, Max Fried has been tabbed for Game 2 followed by Gerrit Cole if Game 3 is necessary. Sonny Gray follows the easygoing Tolle for the Red Sox, who will turn to Ranger Suarez in Game 3 if needed.

Schlittler, 25, won Game 3 in last year’s wild-card series against the Red Sox by striking out 12 in eight dominant innings as New York advanced with a 4-0 victory. He did enough in 14 starts over the final two months of last season to be entrusted with that start after Clarke Schmidt needed elbow surgery.

This season, Schlittler was an important part of the rotation from the start and the Walpole, Mass. native ranks as the prohibitive favorite to win the American League’s Cy Young Award after going 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 33 starts.

“It’s special,” Schlittler said. “Being able to get that experience last year in Game 3, it’s a good feeling to go out there and get the first one.”

Schlittler tied Dylan Cease for the AL’s second-most strikeouts. He joined Cole (2.63 in 2023) as the only Yankees to lead the AL in ERA since 1980.

Schlittler also held hitters to a .185 average and ended the season by going 6-1 with a 1.81 ERA in his final 15 starts that spanned 89 2/3 innings.

“We obviously love his makeup,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday. “He’s obviously super-talented and really skilled, but he’s also mentally really tough and able to focus and it seems like the bigger the game, the better he seems to be here in his young career.”

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FENWAY – (Staff Report from Official Team News Statement) – Major League Baseball announced today that the Red Sox series finale against the Chicago Cubs will be relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Originally set for 7:15 p.m. on September 25 at Fenway Park, the new game is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. on Sunday, September 26 at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The change was made in continued consultation with the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs due to the unchanged forecast of a major nor’easter expected to bring heavy rain, high winds, and potential flooding to the region during the weekend. Tickets purchased directly from the Red Sox will be automatically refunded back to the original payment. The ticket will hold no cash value. Refunds will be completed within 7 days. Sunday’s game will be televised on NESN

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FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – Boston left fielder Roman Anthony went 3-for-3 with three runs, including one on Connor Wong’s tie-breaking RBI double in the seventh inning, leading the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs in the first game of their Friday doubleheader.

Anthony hit two doubles and walked before lining a one-out triple down the right field line off Cubs reliever Aaron Civale (6-8) to spark the Red Sox in the seventh. Wong then drove in Anthony, lining a double over third baseman Matt Shaw’s leap and into the left field corner.

Adley Rutschman was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Red Sox (86-74), tying the game with a two-run single in the fifth.

Greg Weissert (4-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory. Raymond Burgos locked down his second save of the season, striking out three of the final six batters.

Shaw and Michael Busch both had multiple hits and Miguel Amaya drove in two for the Cubs (88-72), who clinched a National League playoff berth Thursday and remain in the running to host a wild-card series.

Alex Bregman returned to Chicago’s lineup just five days after sustaining multiple facial fractures from a foul ball. He went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.

The Cubs struck first in the opening frame. After Red Sox opener Alec Gamboa struck out leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki walked and scored when Tyrone Taylor hit a two-out RBI double into the wind and off the Green Monster two batters later.

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As Boston braces for an extended nor’easter, the Red Sox and the visiting Chicago Cubs are looking to get ahead of the storm and make sure baseball gets played with a Friday doubleheader.

The teams will begin their final regular-season series with 1:05 and 6:05 p.m. games today. The opener originally was slated for Sunday. The clubs’ final regular-season game remains set for Saturday night, but it could be moved to another location with multiple days of continued wind and rain in the Boston-area forecast.

“There have been discussions around an alternate site. They’ve talked about a handful of different places. But at this point, nothing is concrete,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said before his team’s 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.

The Cubs (88-71) earned a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon, clinching their second straight postseason berth.

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FENWAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s reserve utilityman Andruw Monasterio’s sixth-inning RBI single and starting pitcher Sonny Gray’s six shutout innings propelled the ed Sox to a 1-0 win over the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night.

The Red Sox (85-73) managed the lone run on 12 hits, all singles. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base through five innings before Monasterio’s run-scoring, two-out knock off Cleveland starter Foster Griffin (15-6) broke the deadlock.

In the sixth, Jarren Duran (2-for-3) lined a leadoff single to left and moved to second on a groundout. He scored from second base on Monasterio’s knock, sliding ahead of left fielder Steven Kwan’s relay throw and catcher Patrick Bailey’s tag.

Gray (18-5) struck out three while allowing four hits and one walk to increase his American League-leading win total. Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman each threw a scoreless inning to finish off Boston’s 17th shutout victory of the season.

Chapman struck out the side in the ninth to log his 35th save as Boston snapped a three-game losing streak.

Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela returned from a 17-game injury absence caused by a right quad strain to record all three outs in the first, including a spectacular diving catch on Kwan, the leadoff hitter who still went 2-for-4 for Cleveland (82-76).

Griffin worked six frames, striking out seven and allowing one run on 10 hits and no walks.

The Guardians remained one game up on the White Sox (81-77) in the American League Central after Chicago lost 5-4 at Kansas City on Wednesday.

Rafaela hit a leadoff single in the second inning but appeared to be in pain after reaching first. He stayed in the game to run the bases and initially took his defensive position before Duran replaced him. The Red Sox announced that Rafaela was dealing with right hamstring tightness.

Rafaela’s defense helped Gray retire the first six men he faced. Bailey recorded Cleveland’s first hit with a leadoff single in the third, but a 6-3 double play ended the inning without any damage. Gray fanned a pair of Guardians to strand two to end the fourth.

After the lone run scored and Gray exited, Guerrero struck out three in the seventh after a leadoff walk. Whitlock worked around Brayan Rocchio’s leadoff single and Jose Ramirez’s one-out walk in the eighth, inducing an inning-ending double-play grounder from Chase DeLauter.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – A major storm heading toward New England this weekend is expected to force the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox into an early end to the regular season. The upcoming three-game series, which starts Friday at Boston, is expected to have playoff seeding implications. The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that MLB does not plan to move the series to an alternate location despite a storm that will include heavy rain and wind in a regional event commonly known as a Nor’easter.

With the worst of the weather expected to begin Saturday night, multiple outlets have reported that a Friday doubleheader is being planned, with a single game on Saturday that would end the regular season for both clubs.

The Red Sox (84-73) were locked into either the second or third wild-card spot in the American League. They entered Wednesday’s play as the second wild card with a three-game lead on the Chicago White Sox in the third spot.

The Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres all were tied for the top spot the National League wild-card standings at 87-70, with the Arizona Diamondbacks still holding a outside chance at a postseason spot, four games back.

The tight Friday-Saturday schedule would have its advantages for both teams. Both would get an extra day of rest for their pitching staffs heading into wild-card round opening games Tuesday as the remainder of the wild-card field finishes their regular-season schedule Sunday.

–Field Level Media

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