Tuesday won’t be the first time the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have met in the postseason or even the first time they have played in a winner-take-all game. But none of that matters to the teams or their fans in this hated and heated rivalry as the teams meet to see who advances to the ALDS.
The Wild Card game is set for 8:08 p.m. ET at Fenway Park in Boston, and it will be televised on ESPN.
The Red Sox won the last two playoff meetings in 2018 and 2004 with wins in the ALCS en route to a championship. The Yankees won the 2003 and 1999 ALCS and also beat the Red Sox at Fenway in a 1979 one-game playoff. This season the Red Sox won the season series 10-9 with a 6-4 mark at home, but the Yankees had a three-game sweep at Fenway September 24-26.
Can Cole Find His Stuff?
The Yankees ranked seventh in the Majors in home runs this season but just 21st in runs per nine innings and 23rd in average. The pitching staff is top 10 in strikeouts, runs allowed, and average allowed but 18th in home runs allowed.
Ace Gerrit Cole will get the ball for the Yankees, and he has struggled down the stretch with a 7.64 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP in his last three starts. For the season, Cole is 16-8 with a 3.23 ERA, and he beat the Red Sox on September 23. Cole is 8-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 13 career playoff starts, including a 2-0 record with the Yankees.
The Yankees will be without leadoff hitter D.J. LeMahieu (hernia) and first baseman Luke Voit (knee). Aaron Judge, who delivered the walk-off hit Sunday, has homered in all three of the Wild Card games the Yankees have won since 2017. He has 11 postseason home runs in 34 games.
Giancarlo Stanton launched six home runs in the playoffs last year, including two in the Wild Card win over the Indians. He also homered in the 2018 Wild Card game and has eight playoff homers and 16 RBI in 17 career games.
Cole Ready to Go
The Red Sox offense was sold all season in 2021, ranking third in the Majors in average and OPS, fourth in runs per nine innings, and eighth in home runs. The pitching staff struggled in comparison, finishing in the bottom 10 in average and OPS allowed along with runs per nine innings.
Righty Nathan Eovaldi will be on the mound for the Red Sox Tuesday night. On the season, he is 11-9 with a 3.75 ERA but has a 6.59 ERA over his last three starts. Eovaldi pitched six times in the playoffs back in 2018 with two starts, and he was 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA.
He lost to the Yankees on September 24 and August 17. In the September outing at Fenway, he allowed seven runs on seven hits over just 2 ⅔ innings. Stanton took him deep while Judge had an RBI double and Gleyber Torres an RBI single.
The Red Sox last made the playoffs in 2018, and three of their best hitters are still on the team in Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez. Devers has three career playoff homers, and he went deep off Cole on September 24. Martinez has six career playoff homers in 21 games, while Bogaerts has struggled in the playoffs batting just .219.
Betting Analysis
- New York Yankees -1.5 (+130) run line -125 money line
- Boston Red Sox +1.5 (-150) run line +105 money line
- Total Runs: 8. Over -115. Under -105
These teams both went 92-70 on the season, and the atmosphere will be electric in Boston on Tuesday. The Red Sox bullpen has struggled down the stretch while the Yankees statistically have the best bullpen in the American League, anchored by Aroldis Chapman. The Yankees hit Eovaldi well, and if he struggles early, this game could get out of hand.
Free Pick: Yankees -1.5 (+130)
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