Aaron Boone and the Yankees blew a late lead and failed to capitalize with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, falling 3-1 at home to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
Yankees ace Max Fried was dominant through 6 1/3 innings, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out six. But after his 102nd pitch, Boone turned to the bullpen, calling on Luke Weaver — who immediately gave up a two-run single to Masataka Yoshida, putting Boston ahead 2-1.
With Fried out, New York’s bullpen — a notable weakness all season — couldn’t stop the bleeding.
The struggles continued in the ninth, when the Yankees loaded the bases with three straight singles but failed to bring anyone home.
Boone’s decision to pull Fried and the Yankees’ inability to execute in a critical moment drew sharp criticism from fans and analysts as Boston took a 1-0 series lead.
After surrendering an early solo home run to Anthony Volpe, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet bounced back, delivered a dominant performance, pitching 7 2/3 innings while allowing four hits, striking out 11, and posting a 1.17 ERA. The lefty ended his night with a called third strike against Austin Wells on his 117th pitch at 100 MPH.
Yankees shortstop Volpe got things started by giving New York an early 1-0 lead. He led the team at the plate Tuesday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a .667 batting average.
The Red Sox were quiet at the plate until the top of the seventh, when Fried was pulled and reliever Luke Weaver took the mound. A red-hot Yoshida singled to center on his first at bat,, scoring Nick Sogard and Ceddanne Rafaela to give Boston a 2-1 lead with one out.
In the top of the ninth, Trevor Story stole second to get into scoring position before Alex Bregman ripped an RBI double to left, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 lead with the Yankees down to their final three outs.
Closer Aroldis Chapman entered in the bottom of the ninth and quickly gave up three straight singles on just five pitches, as Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger loaded the bases with no outs. But the veteran rebounded under pressure, striking out Giancarlo Stanton, getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out to right, and fanning Trent Grisham to seal the win for the Red Sox.
As the Red Sox take a one-game advantage, the winner of the best-of-three series will advance to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series beginning Saturday.
The teams will meet again in Game 2 on Wednesday in New York, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. Boston’s Brayan Bello is set to face Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon.
