The Boston Red Sox improved to 86-74 on Friday afternoon as they beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in game one of Friday's day-night doubleheader. With the win, the Red Sox locked themselves into the second wild card spot, setting up a matchup with the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in the Wild Card round. 

2026 will mark the second straight season that the rivals face off in the postseason, with New York eliminating Boston in three games in 2025 and holding the Boston offense to just six runs over those games. 

The Yankees won the regular-season series against the Red Sox thanks to a 16-1 win in New York on Aug. 30. In the 13 regular-season matchups between the two sides, offense was hard to come by. 

Boston pitching held the Yankees' offense to a .232/.290/.370/.660 slash line, with New York scoring just over four runs per game. While the Red Sox offense struggled to a .199/.264/.315/.579 slash line, scoring just three runs a game. 

If they want any chance of getting past New York, they'll need to get their offense back to the form they found during the team's historic hot streak in July, which began with a four-game sweep over the Yankees. Entering Friday's doubleheader, the Boston offense ranked in the bottom five in September in batting average (.221, 29th), on-base percentage (.294, T-26th), slugging percentage (.362, 28th), and runs scored (63, 30th). The Boston offense has particularly struggled with runners in scoring position, going just 27-for-158 (.171 batting average) in 21 games. 

Boston's All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras has been out of the lineup since Sept. 17 after being hit by a pitch on the right hand during the team's series-finale win over the Texas Rangers. Despite negative X-rays, Contreras cast significant doubt on his postseason availability, telling reporters Thursday night that he has been unable to swing a bat in back-to-back days without significant pain.

On New York's side, three-time American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge's availability for the Wild Card round has been put into question thanks to a right calf strain that landed him on the injured list on Sept. 16. New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters that the team was planning on entering the postseason without his star, but Judge pushed back on that notion shortly after. 

Both Judge and Contreras are caliber bats who could swing the series in their respective sides' favor, and their statuses heading into the series will be a key factor to watch. 

The Wild Card series will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Yankee Stadium, with first-pitch time still to be announced. 

The Red Sox and Cubs will meet again in game two of Friday's doubleheader, with Brayan Bello (6-7, 4.49 ERA) starting for Boston against David Peterson (9-8, 4.96 ERA) for Chicago. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. ET.