By Tiffany Williams –
The rivalry is back under October lights. Red Sox. Yankees. Bronx. Tuesday night. First pitch 6:08 p.m. and the 2025 postseason wastes no time serving up pure theater.
Boston rolls in as the No. 5 seed after an 89-73 campaign, their best since 2021. It’s their first trip back to October since that year, when they also shoved the Yankees aside in the Wild Card. New York hasn’t beaten Boston in the playoffs since 2003. Since then, the Sox own them: three straight postseason series wins, eight of the last nine head-to-head playoff games.
This year’s regular season wasn’t much different. The Sox bullied the Yankees, winning nine of 13, outscoring them by 15 runs, and going 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. They even ripped off an eight-game winning streak in the rivalry, tying their longest in the live-ball era. Boston is 24-15 against New York since 2023. The edge is real, recent, and lopsided.
But the postseason always resets the clock, and New York throws out Max Fried to start Game 1. He’ll be staring down Garrett Crochet, who has been a nightmare for the Yankees in 2025. The lefty went 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 27.1 innings against them. Fried has the name, but Crochet has the track record.
Boston’s staff is built for this matchup. Brayan Bello owned New York with a 1.89 ERA in three starts, and rookie Hunter Dobbins already blanked them over six innings back in June. The arms aren’t the problem. The bats are timely. Carlos Narvaez ripped a game-winner in June and dropped a two-run bomb in the Sox’s 12-1 demolition in August. Trevor Story found his stride that same stretch. Romy Gonzalez delivered doubles in big spots.
This is Boston’s 26th postseason appearance but just their second in the past seven years. It’s also their first crack at the Wild Card Series format after making their lone Wild Card Game count in 2021. They don’t have the division crown — they rarely do — but they don’t need it. The 2004 Sox didn’t either. Neither did the 2019 Nationals or the 2023 Rangers.
New York is favored by payroll and venue. Boston is favored by history and momentum. One night in the Bronx and one of baseball’s oldest grudges gets another bloody chapter.