The New York Yankees continued their streak of postseason heartbreak against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, Sept. 30, falling
The New York Yankees continued their streak of postseason heartbreak against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, Sept. 30, falling 3-1 at home to their hated rival in the first game of their American League Wild Card Series.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead after six innings of play, New York came undone once starting pitcher Max Fried left the game. Although the Yankees managed to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman managed to retire the side and preserve the win.
Here are the winners and losers from another classic Red Sox/Yankees postseason duel.
Winner: Anthony Volpe
Now in his third season with the team he grew up rooting for, shortstop Anthony Volpe has faced a mountain of criticism after slashing just .212/.272/.391 on the year, light hitting even per the standards of a middle infielder.
Volpe responded by putting on the best performance at the plate of any Yankee, going 2-for-3 with an opposite field home run that would’ve cleared the fences in 29 out of 30 ballparks. He’ll need more than one playoff homer to shake a negative reputation among fans of the Yankees and MLB in general, but Volpe’s ability to rise to the occasion — even in a loss — deserves commendation.
Winner: Garrett Crochet
Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet put on a masterful performance deep in enemy territory on Tuesday night, striking out 11 batters across 7.2 innings and allowing just one run. The 6-foot-6 ace showed off his endurance as well, stretching out for 117 pitches (78 strikes) and limiting the Yankees long enough for his own offense to wake up and reward him with the win.
Making his return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, when he appeared out of the bullpen with the Chicago White Sox, Crochet’s highlights included three strikeouts of Yankees’ sparkplug Trent Grisham and inducing a double play from slugger Giancarlo Stanton to escape the first inning with two aboard. The only real stain on his résumé was the Volpe home run: Crochet didn’t issue any free passes and of the four hits he allowed, only one went for extra bases.
Loser: Yankees Bullpen
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The New York Yankees bullpen came undone in the clutch, costing the team a chance at a playoff win.
After starting pitcher Max Fried rolled through 6.1 scoreless innings, manager Aaron Boone rang the bullpen phone for right-hander Luke Weaver. Weaver lost an epic 11 pitch duel to Ceddanne Rafaela, who drew a walk, then allowed two base hits on his next four pitches, a double and a single, leaving the game before recording an out… and leaving the Yankees facing a 2-1 deficit.
Trade deadline acquisition David Bednar entered in the ninth inning to keep the Red Sox within striking distance and allowed a two-out rally, with Boston tacking on another run courtesy of a Trevor Story single and an Alex Bregman double.
That forced Boone to phone the bullpen once again, this time for left-hander Tim Hill, who ended the inning but left New York with another arm taxed heading into a must-win game. The Yankees needed five pitchers to record the final eight outs and didn’t even come away with the win.
Loser: Aroldis Chapman
On the theme of shoddy bullpen performances, it wasn’t the Cuban Missile sinking the Yankees’ hopes for a change. Chapman entered for a four-out save and, while he didn’t allow any runs, the big left-hander never looked comfortable either.
He committed a curious mental error in the eighth inning, attempting to pick off Volpe three different times during an at-bat against the bottom of the Yankees’ lineup… the third pickoff attempt triggering a disengagement violation that advanced Volpe to second base.
Chapman then allowed three straight singles to begin the ninth inning before rebounding, bookending a Jazz Chisholm Jr. flyout too shallow to plate a run with strikeouts of Stanton and Grisham. With 24 high-stress pitches to his name, Chapman might not be available for the Red Sox’ game against New York tomorrow night.
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