The Boston Red Sox rallied from 1-0 down to beat the New York Yankees 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman combined on a dominant performance, with Chapman's heroics in the ninth sealing the victory.
The Boston Red Sox earned a win in Game 1 of the American League wild card series on Tuesday night, beating the New York Yankees 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.
Boston, who finished third in the American League East in the regular season and earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, is now one win away from advancing to the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Yankees, who battled for the division title until the final day of the season, are now one loss away from elimination.
The comeback
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Red Sox got to the New York bullpen after manager Aaron Boone pulled left-hander Max Fried.
Hitting against right-hander Luke Weaver, Ceddanne Rafaela worked a walk and advanced to third on a hustle double from Nick Sogard.
Masataka Yoshida, who pinch-hit for Rob Refnsyder, singled past a drawn-in infield to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
They'd score another run in the top of the ninth inning on a double by Alex Bregman, who is appearing in his ninth straight postseason.
Garrett Crochet's night
Making his first career playoff start, Crochet was absolutely dominant over 7.2 innings. The burly left-hander, who was acquired for moments just like this, struck out 11 while walking no one. He gave up just four hits and one earned run.
A Cy Young possibility in the AL, Crochet hit 100.2 MPH on his final pitch of the night -- 117.
Aroldis Chapman pulls a Houdini act
The longtime closer, and former Yankees hurler, got the final out of the eighth inning before running into trouble in the ninth. The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out on singles by Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, but Chapman struck out Giancarlo Stanton for the first out.
He then got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out weakly, and the Yankees didn't bother sending the runner since they were down two. Chapman then struck out Trent Grisham to end the game and give Boston the series lead.
Chapman won a World Series in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs and 2023 with the Texas Rangers.
What's next
Boston and New York will play again on Wednesday night at 6:08 p.m. ET. Brayan Bello (BOS) will pitch against hard-throwing left-hander Carlos Rodon.
News and notes
--The Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians in game one of the other wild card series. Tarik Skubal earned the win. Boston just played Detroit in the final series of the regular season.
--Friend went 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and three walks. He struck out six.
--Boston had eight total hits, and Trevor Story successfully stole a base.
RELATED RED SOX STORIES
GETTING AGGRESSIVE: With multiple pitchers set to leave in free agency or need time recovering from injury, the Red Sox are expected to heavily pursue pitching in the offseason. CLICK HERE:
THE STREAK: Ten years in the league, nine years in the playoffs. Welcome to the life of Alex Bregman. CLICK HERE:
WALK-OFF KINGS: The Red Sox led baseball in walk-off wins this season with 12, but where does that rank in their own history? CLICK HERE:
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!