After an iconic performance from Garrett Crochet (18-5, 2.59 ERA) in game one of the Red Sox wild card series against the Yankees (94-68), Boston (89-73) now sits one win away from advancing to an ALDS series against AL East champion Toronto (94-68).

It wasn’t just Crochet’s 11 strikeouts over 7.2 innings in the 3-1 victory that Red Sox fans are going to remember for a long time.

It’s the walk from Ceddanne Rafaela.

It’s the awful decision from Aaron Boone to head to his bullpen too early.

It’s that half-inning from Aroldis Chapman.

It’s that extra effort from Nick Sogard on the base path that directly led to an additional run that was much needed late.

The game truly had it all. And just like that, this team feels like it might have that special sauce needed to make a deep run.

Of course, that was just one night.

The Yankees will be fighting for their life on Wednesday night, and are throwing an 18-game winner in Carlos Rondon (18-9, 3.09 ERA).

Boston will throw righty Brayan Bello (11-9, 3.35 ERA), whose resurgent 2025 season has taken a bit of a turn down the stretch run.

But with the second round of the postseason just 27 outs away, there’s no time to harp on the recent past.

Manager Alex Cora spoke pregame on Wednesday about the growth he’s seen from his 26-year-old No. 2 starter, and why he’s confident Bello can gather himself back to the level he has pitched at most of this season.

“You could tell that he's a more mature kid,” said Cora. “I remember last year we had this, ‘he cannot pitch in day games,’ and now he can pitch day games, you know? And I think what happens off the field has helped.

“You know, his family is around. I still haven't seen the Netflix thing, but I know that there's a part in there where I had a conversation with him about his family, how much he misses it, and we had to help them out this year. They've been around the whole time, and that has helped them. You know, it's very hard to be from the Dominican Republic, and pitching at this level and not having your support system. And I honestly believe that that's pushed him to be the pitcher he is right now.

“The stuff is really good. We know that is a guy that has developed the cutter, has used the four-seamer. Now, I still remember an outing here two years ago or three years ago that we wanted him to throw the change-up 40% of the time. That was a conversation before the game. And now is the total opposite, right? He has so many weapons that I'm not saying the change-up is his worst, but it's not the same change-up as a few years ago.”

It’s Yankees. It’s Red Sox. It’s October baseball.

This is what it’s all about.

Boston is currently a +170 underdog for tonight's game two, per OddsTrader.

First pitch is set for 6:08 p.m. ET.

See you on the other side.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.