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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BRONX – (Wire Service Report) – Heliot Ramos delivered his biggest hit for his new team when his three-run homer capped a five-run fifth inning and helped the New York Yankees roll to a 16-1 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees won for the 10th time in 14 games and moved four games ahead of the Red Sox for the AL’s top-wild card spot. New York also won seven of the 13 meetings to secure the season series and the tiebreaker should the rivals finish tied at the end of the regular season.

Austin Wells hit a pair of two-run homers in a nine-run eighth after entering the game as a pinch hitter for the Yankees. Jose Caballero hit a three-run homer in the eighth off infielder Andruw Monasterio, who also served up Wells’ second homer of the inning.

Ramos staked New York to a 5-0 lead when he lifted a 1-2 curveball from Boston starter Ranger Suarez (5-4) into the left field seats for his first homer since being obtained from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline. Ramos’ 416-foot drive was his first homer since July 20, and the outfielder had his first multi-hit game as a Yankee while also drawing a pair of walks.

Paul Goldschmidt started that inning with a two-run single that got by Suarez and past Boston’s drawn-in infielders.

Goldschmidt’s clutch hit occurred after Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela could not complete a running catch on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s sinking liner. Rafaela caught the ball, but umpires determined his glove was touching the grass and the original call was upheld after Boston challenged.

Wells lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Amed Rosario contributed an RBI single in the seventh as the Yankees totaled 25 runs on 31 hits in the final two games of the four-game series. Goldschmidt added a solo homer for New York’s 10th run in the eighth.

New York’s Will Warren (9-6) allowed one run on six hits in seven-plus innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one before exiting to a nice ovation from the crowd after allowing an RBI single to Nick Sogard.

Suarez was tagged for season highs of six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

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BRONX – The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are trying to catch the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East race.

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox offered a glimpse at what a postseason encounter might look like on Friday night.

After widening their lead in the race for the American League’s top wild-card spot, the Yankees hope to see standout showings from Carlos Rodon and Max Fried when they host the Red Sox in a day-night doubleheader on Saturday.

New York moved three games ahead of the Red Sox when Cam Schlittler and three relievers combined on a five-hitter in Friday’s 1-0 victory. Cody Bellinger threw out Ceddanne Rafaela at the plate as the potential tying run in the seventh inning.

New York enters its third doubleheader since the All-Star break with a major league-best 3.22 ERA despite spending time without Gerrit Cole, Rodon and Fried.

In the opener, Rodon (4-2, 3.15 ERA) will make his third start since returning from a second injured list stint due to elbow inflammation. He likely will see his pitch count gradually increase.

Rodon threw 66 pitches in his return on Aug. 18 at Baltimore and increased to 76 Sunday when he allowed two runs on two hits in four innings during New York’s 8-3 win over Toronto.

The left-hander is 5-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 13 career starts against Boston.

In the nightcap, Fried (4-4, 2.81) will return from a second but much shorter injured list stint due to a bone bruise in his left elbow.

Fried last pitched Aug. 13 and allowed a solo homer to Weston Wilson among five hits in five innings in 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Fried was 0-1 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts after returning from his initial two-month absence before being placed on the injured list Aug. 17.

The left-hander is 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in six career starts against Boston.

“He has responded well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Fried. “Actually, similar to how he responded the first time when he left Baltimore and missed more time. He has kind of responded well to that time and then the buildup. Like, he’s never really been shut down.”

The Red Sox are 9-10 in their past 19 games following a 32-5 stretch that included a 15-game winning streak. Boston has not scored since Jarren Duran hit a grand slam in the 11th inning of Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the host Miami Marlins.

Rafaela had two hits Friday but was doubled off first base once and later thrown out at home plate in a game in which the Red Sox had six walks, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10.

“We just didn’t probably execute when we needed to,” Rafaela said after Boston was blanked in consecutive games for the first time this season. “I made some dumb decisions. We come back tomorrow, and win two and win the other one, we win the series. That’s the plan – win the series and go home.”

Rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (8-6, 3.49), who limited the Yankees to one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings June 27 while opposing Cole, starts the opener. Since facing New York, Bennett is 6-3 with a 4.61 ERA in his past nine starts and earned the win when he allowed four runs in seven innings against San Francisco on Sunday.

The Red Sox did not announce their pitching plans for the second game and may use an opener followed by Brayan Bello as a bulk reliever.

–Field Level Media

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees are receiving $2.6 billion in a deal with the private equity fund Apollo Sports Capital, the team announced on Tuesday.

The huge capital infusion for Yankee Global Enterprises will allow the team to refinance or retire much of its existing debt and then pursue new ventures, according to The Athletic.

Hal Steinbrenner remains the Yankees’ managing general partner and the Steinbrenner family maintains full control of the historic franchise. Patriarch George Steinbrenner, who died in 2010, led a group of investors that bought the team from CBS for $10 million in 1973.

“We are continually seeking ways to strengthen our positioning, and this partnership allows us to explore pursuing strategic opportunities,” Hal Steinbrenner said in a news release.

An individual private equity fund can hold no more than a 15 percent stake in a club under the rules of Major League Baseball. The exact percentage of Apollo’s stake was not announced. Forbes’ annual list of MLB franchise valuations listed the Yankees at $8.5 billion in March.

In addition to the baseball team, Yankee Global Enterprises’ assets include the YES Network and stakes in MLS club New York City FC and Italian soccer team AC Milan, all of which could benefit from the new money.

Apollo Sports Capital is a branch of Apollo Global Management, a New York-based firm with nearly $1 trillion in assets under management. Apollo became the majority stakeholder of Spanish soccer power Atletico Madrid in 2025.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Boston rookie left-hander Jake Bennett allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings,  designated hitter Masataka Yoshida and rookie infielder Anthony Seigler each belted a solo home run and the host Boston Red Sox earned a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon. It was Seigler’s first homer of his career and proved to be the 25th Boston home run off New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole since 2020, when Cole joined the Yanks.

The first hit allowed by Bennett (2-3) came with two outs in the fifth inning, courtesy of a solo homer by Max Schuemann. Bennett yielded two more hits and struck out three batters before exiting to a standing ovation.

Yoshida launched a solo shot in the first inning and Seigler — a first-round pick of the Yankees in the 2018 MLB Draft — added his homer in the second.

Boston’s Willson Contreras ripped a two-run double in the third inning, one day after sparking a benches-clearing push-and-shove incident in a 6-1 win over New York on Friday night.

The early offense on Saturday powered the Red Sox to their third straight win to open the four-game series. The Yankees, in turn, have lost six of their last eight games.

Justin Slaten relieved Bennett and struck out Jose Caballero and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the seventh inning. Garrett Whitlock retired the side in order in the eighth and Aroldis Chapman got the final three outs in the ninth to secure his 16th save.

Boston bolted out of the blocks as Yoshida deposited the second pitch of the game from Gerrit Cole (2-3) over the wall in right-center field. The homer was the second of the season for Yoshida and first since May 24.

Seigler doubled the advantage in the second inning by sending a 3-1 fastball from Cole just over the Green Monster.

Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela each singled to center to lead off the third inning before both runners sprinted home on Contreras’ hard-hit smash to left-center field.

New York finally solved Bennett in the fifth, as Schuemann deposited a first-pitch sinker over the wall in center field.

Cole struggled in his second straight outing, permitting four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Preview) – Teams at opposite ends of the American League East standings will meet tonight when the New York Yankees open a four-game series against the host Boston Red Sox. The division-leading Yankees enter the series on a two-game winning streak after a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Paul Goldschmidt hit two solo home runs off Tarik Skubal, and Jasson Dominguez delivered a two-run shot in the sixth inning.

“Obviously (Skubal is) one of the best pitchers in the game and facing him is a tough challenge,” Goldschmidt said. “I just try to get in there and compete, and fortunately, I was able to get a couple balls I was able to get out of there.

“We didn’t have many hits (six). We didn’t have much offense, but it was enough just because our pitching was so good. … This game is hard. Nights like this when you have success, enjoy it because there are a lot of games where we either lose or individually you have a bad game or there’s stretches of bad games.”

Ryan Weathers and three relievers scattered two runs and eight hits against the Tigers.

Boston, meanwhile, is at the bottom of the AL East and dropped 14 games below .500 with Wednesday’s 8-6 loss against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.

The Red Sox led 6-3 when shortstop Marcelo Mayer made an error on a routine grounder with two outs in the seventh inning. The Rockies scored three runs in the inning after the error to tie the game.

Mayer entered the contest when third baseman Caleb Durbin had to leave after injuring his left hand while sliding into first base. Boston made two errors in the loss, and five of Colorado’s eight runs were unearned.

“I mean today it was fairly clear, we didn’t play well enough defensively,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “A lot of their run-scoring opportunities and run scores were a product of us. We have to take care of the ball.”

New York has won four of five games against the Red Sox this season, including a three-game sweep in Boston from April 21-23.

Left-hander Connelly Early (6-5, 3.64 ERA) is expected to start for Boston on tonight.

Early is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in his only regular-season start against the Yankees. He gave up three runs on five hits, walked three and struck out four in a 4-0 loss to New York on April 21.

Right-hander Cam Schlittler (8-3, 1.71 ERA) is New York’s probable starter. He’s 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in two career regular-season starts against Boston.

Schlittler also earned the win when New York beat Boston 4-0 in Game 3 of the AL wild-card series last season. He struck out 12 in eight innings during that game. Early gave up all four New York runs in 3 2/3 innings and took the loss.

Tonight will mark the first of seven straight home games for the Red Sox, who are 12-25 at Fenway Park this year.

Boston infielder Romy Gonzalez has yet to play this season after having shoulder surgery in March but could be activated this weekend.

“I’m trying to push for Saturday to be activated,” Gonzalez said. “We’ll see what happens. Definitely, I want to be (there) Sunday with (New York’s Carlos) Rodon going Sunday. I want to be in the lineup.”

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Cody Bellinger drove in two runs with a pinch-hit single to help the visiting New York Yankees extend their winning streak to six  by beating the Boston Red Sox 4-2 Thursday night.

Bellinger singled against reliever Greg Weissert with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning. The hit, which drove in Jazz Chisholm and Trent Grisham, put the Yankees in front 3-2.

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