For much of the Boston Red Sox’s historic rivalry with the New York Yankees, the Yankees have had the upper hand. That was especially obvious during the 85-season stretch from 1919 to 2003, when New York won 26 World Series titles while the Red Sox won zero.
The tables have turned over the last two decades, however, as Boston’s been the one dominating the rivalry. The Red Sox have won their last three postseason meetings, beating the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, 2018 ALDS and 2021 AL Wild Card Game. Over their previous 12 playoff games against each other, Boston is 8-4.
The Red Sox also had New York’s number this year, going 9-4 with a plus-15 run differential versus the Yankees in the regular season. That includes a 5-1 record at Yankee Stadium, where the two teams will meet again this week in the AL Wild Card Series.
That bodes well for Boston heading into its pivotal postseason series in the Bronx. While the Red Sox are betting underdogs, they shouldn’t be taken lightly and have a good chance of upsetting New York.
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Boston will open the series behind AL Cy Young candidate Garrett Crochet in Game 1, who dominated the Yankees this season. In four starts against them, he went 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings.
Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito are expected to start the other two games for the Red Sox. Bello is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in three starts against New York this year, while Giolito is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in two starts.
Alex Cora has also proven to be a much better postseason manager than Aaron Boone, navigating his teams to a 17-8 record in October, including 4-1 against the Yankees.
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Accordingly, Boston has plenty of reasons to be confident against New York this week. The Yankees aren’t an easy matchup by any means, but the Red Sox have no reason to fear them.
Featured image via Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images
