It took them more than 20 years, but the New York Yankees finally beat the Boston Red Sox in a playoff series again.
Coming into this year’s AL Wild Card Series, the Red Sox had won their last three postseason matchups with the Yankees, beating them in the 2004 ALCS, the 2018 ALDS and the 2021 AL Wild Card Game. New York hadn’t beaten Boston in a playoff series since the 2003 ALCS, when several players on both teams were just toddlers.
After dominating the Red Sox for nearly a century, the Yankees suffered a historic collapse in the 2004 ALCS, becoming the only team in MLB history to blow a 3-0 series lead.
That series was a turning point for both franchises. Boston became baseball’s top team of the 21st century, winning four World Series after that to New York’s one.
The Red Sox owned the Yankees in October over the last two decades, winning the 2018 ALDS against them 3-1 and beating them at Fenway Park in the 2021 AL Wild Card Game. After winning Game 1 of the 2025 AL Wild Card Series, Boston had won nine of its previous 10 playoff games against New York.
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The current Yankees of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Boone had known nothing but postseason failure against the Red Sox. Same for their fans, who had gone a full generation without seeing their team beat their rivals in October.
That finally changed this week, however, as New York bounced back to win Games 2 and 3 and take the series, becoming the first MLB team to overcome a 1-0 deficit in the current Wild Card Series format.
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With their season on the line, the Yankees fought back. They never trailed in Games 2 and 3 and their pitching stepped up, shutting out Boston over the final 15 innings of the series to advance to the ALDS.
The Red Sox have had the upper hand in the rivalry lately, but now New York is finally back on top.
Featured image via John Jones/Imagn Images
