Yankees Sweep Red Sox in Wild Card Series, Advance to ALDS vs. Rays

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 9-2 on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, completing a 2-0 sweep of the American League Wild Card Series and moving on to face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Division Series.

New York again won with a blend of strong pitching and a deep lineup. Max Fried gave the Yankees six innings of one-run ball, while Luis García Jr. provided an early spark with a home run off Boston starter Sonny Gray. The game broke open in the sixth, when 10 Yankees came to the plate in a six-run inning. Cody Bellinger delivered the decisive blow with a three-run homer off Garrett Whitlock, and George Lombard Jr. added his first postseason RBI. Austin Wells and Ryan McMahon also drove in runs in the inning.

Boston managed only two solo home runs. Willson Contreras connected in the sixth, and Nick Sogard added another in the seventh. Contreras’ shot ended the Red Sox’s postseason scoreless streak at 26 innings, dating to Game 2 of the 2025 AL Wild Card Series.

Gray, a former Yankee, was charged with allowing the early damage and left in the fifth inning to boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd. García’s homer was part of another productive night for a Yankees offense that has kept rolling despite the absence of Aaron Judge, who is on the injured list and was not included on New York’s Wild Card roster. According to MLB’s recap, García hit 30 home runs during the regular season, including seven after arriving in an August trade from Washington.

Judge’s absence did little to slow New York in this round. The Yankees scored 18 runs in the two-game sweep, including a 9-0 win in the opener, showing they can generate offense throughout the lineup even without their biggest star available. That depth was on display again Wednesday, with contributions from García, Bellinger, Lombard, Wells and McMahon.

The Wild Card Series is a best-of-three round, so the sweep allowed the Yankees to avoid a deciding Game 3 and advance directly to the ALDS. They will open that series against Tampa Bay on Saturday at Tropicana Field. The Rays earned the American League’s top seed and a bye through the Wild Card round. It is also the second straight postseason in which the Yankees have eliminated the Red Sox.