Playoff primer: Red Sox to face Yankees on Tuesday in New York, Garrett Crochet will start Game 1

The Red Sox and Yankees are about to add another chapter to baseball’s most enduring rivalry, as the two clubs will square off Tuesday night in the opening round of the MLB postseason. Yankee Stadium will serve as the stage for a matchup that will blend history, tension, and October urgency between the two bitter rivals.

“It’s New York against Boston,” said manager Alex Cora. “It’s gonna be big.”

Every game of this best-of-three series will be played in the Bronx, which means the Sox’ 4-3 win on Sunday over the Tigers at Fenway Park could have been the final game at home this season. If the Red Sox are able to take down the Evil Empire, they will return home on Oct. 7 for Game 3 of the Division Series against the AL East champion, the Blue Jays.

Cora fully expects his club to return to Fenway Park this season and believes his team can make a deep run in the postseason.

“We’ve got a chance,” Cora said. “I think offensively we’re doing a lot of good things. The bullpen is a lot better than the last few years. I think having that No. 1 [starter] helps.

“We know we’re going on the road. We know it’s Garrett [Crochet] on Tuesday. So we have a pretty good chance.”

For Boston, this meeting marks their return to playoff baseball after a season that tested their depth and resilience. The Red Sox played their best baseball following the Father’s Day trade that sent Rafael Devers to the Giants, removing the malcontent in the locker room and reshaping the roster in the short and long term. 

Boston will send Crochet to the mound for Game 1, and he will be opposed by Yankees No. 1 starter Max Fried. Crochet had a monster first season for the Red Sox, going 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA while striking out a league-high 255 batters. He also led all of baseball, tossing 205 1/3 innings, the most of his young career.

“They have a good team. They have a good rotation,” said Cora. “We know each other, so there’s no secrets. It’s their lefties against our righties. We’ve got Garrett on Tuesday, so it should be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

This season, Crochet went 3-0 versus the Yankees, recording a 2.90 ERA and 45 strikeouts.

“He’s a tough matchup, if not one of the best, the best pitcher in the game right now, probably on his way to a Cy Young,” potential AL MVP Aaron Judge said to reporters about Crochet.

Judge has had some success against Crochet, belting two homers against him. Crochet has struck him out 11 times this season.

Boston will certainly feature a lineup with lefty mashers Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder in the first two games. The Sox went 24-21 against southpaw starters.

“We’ve done that throughout the year, and we’re gonna keep doing it. Obviously, we have struggled a little bit, but we put good at-bats against Fried and put good at-bats against Rodón throughout the season, and we expect to do the same thing.”

The Red Sox won the season series against the Yankees this season, going 9-4 in their 13 meetings.

“Great team, obviously have had a great season,” Aaron Boone said about Boston following the Yankees' win versus Baltimore on Sunday. “I’m sure we’re going to see a great pitcher on Tuesday, but I know our guys are all looking forward to it, too. Just try to continue to play our game.”

The last time the two rivals met in the postseason was in the Wild Card round in 2021. Boston eliminated New York and advanced to the ALDS but was later eliminated by the Astros in the ALCS in six games.

Both Game 1 and Game 2 are set for 6:08 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. The two teams could play Game 3, if necessary, on Thursday, but that time is currently TBD.

Boston will have Brayan Bello start Game 2, and he will face Carlos Rodón. Lucas Giolito is the logical choice to start Game 3 should the two teams need the winner-take-all matchup.

This will be the third time Cora will manage against the Yankees in the postseason. Boston defeated New York in four games in the ALDS in 2018 en route to winning the World Series.

“We played great. We played good defense, and we pitched well over there,” said Cora. “They tell us where and when, and we’re gonna show up. The guys have done a better job on the road the last month or month-and-a-half. We’ll just go there, have fun, and enjoy it.”

Bello allowed just four runs in 19 innings in three starts versus the Yankees this season. He also has a 1.44 ERA in five career starts at Yankee Stadium. The only issue for Bello was his atrocious September, where he went 1-3 with a 5.44 ERA. Boston will hope that Bello can find his midseason form quickly under the bright lights of postseason play.

The backend of the Red Sox bullpen is lethal with All-Star Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock as a solid 1-2 punch in the eighth and ninth, respectively. Boston will need Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, and Justin Wilson to hunker down and close the gap in the middle innings.

If Boston can get by the Yankees, it’s likely rookie Connelly Early will be on the postseason roster and will pitch in the ALDS versus the Blue Jays.

“Are we perfect? No, we’re not,” Cora said. “But I don’t think there’s a perfect team out there, to be honest with you. So just go out there, play hard, and see where it takes us.”

Rookie outfielder Roman Anthony will be one of several players the Red Sox will send to Fort Myers this week while Boston competes in the AL Wild Card round.

Anthony is unsure when he will return to the Red Sox’ lineup as he continues to rehab back from an oblique strain that landed him on the injured list on Sept. 3. He is doing “light workouts” and “light exercising” as of now.

"We have a really good staff down there, and my goal is to worry about getting back on the field as soon as I can," Anthony said. “That’s the plan, and I’m good with it.”

The 21-year-old had been one of the Sox’ top offensive producers prior to his injury. He batted .292 with eight homers, 18 doubles, one triple, 32 RBI, 48 runs, and a .859 OPS (71 games).

The Sox and Yankees aren’t battling in an epic seven-game series, but their Wild Card matchup will carry its own drama. Boston needs to set the tone and win Game 1 with their ace on the mound. Taking the series opener not only grabs the momentum but also a psychological edge in a rivalry built on moments of heartbreak and triumph. Lose, and the hill gets steeper, the weight heavier.

For Boston and New York, this is the way October is supposed to begin. Together, in the same ballpark, fighting not just for survival but for the right to claim another piece of baseball immortality.