Boston Red Sox
New York eliminated Boston in three games in 2025.
The 2026 Boston Red Sox were on pace to be one of the worst teams in franchise history to begin the 2026 season.
A couple of unprecedented winning streaks later, they’re back in the playoffs to face off against their rival New York Yankees in the wild-card series for the second consecutive season.
Boston clinched the No. 5 seed in the American League on Friday and will officially head to the Bronx in a wild-card rematch with its divisional foe, the No. 4 seed Yankees.
Boston and New York’s 2026 matchup will mark the seventh time the two franchises have faced off in the playoffs.
The Red Sox solidified their spot in the postseason picture with a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of their day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park.
Boston’s bats recorded nine hits total; Roman Anthony went 3-for-3 with a walk and Adley Rutschman drove in two crucial runs on a base hit to tie the game at three in the fifth inning. It was a much-needed offensive performance for a lineup that has performed sluggishly in September with Game 1 of the wild-card series coming up Tuesday, Sept. 29.
After the game, Anthony was asked about his excitement level heading into his first MLB postseason. He was sidelined for the 2025 run due to a season-ending oblique injury.
“That’s what you want as a competitor,” Anthony told NESN’s Jahmai Webster about competing at Yankee Stadium. “(The Yankees are) a great team. We’re a great team. We always play good baseball against them. They play good baseball against us. It’s gonna be a fun one.
“(It’s) a great place to play. And like I said, for us, where else would you rather be as a competitor? So, we’ll be ready for it. I think the biggest thing is taking advantage of these next few games and understanding we’ve got a few games left to complete, and then we’ll deal with that when it comes.”
Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees have publicly announced their starting rotation plans for the series. As Boston is lined up based on its last few games, Payton Tolle would pitch in Game 1, then Sonny Gray in Game 2, and Ranger Suarez for an if-necessary Game 3.
New York, however, has a more fluid situation. The club said publicly that star right-hander Cam Schlittler — a Walpole native — isn’t a lock to start Game 1. Schlittler and Max Fried are each possibilities, according to manager Aaron Boone.
New York could be taking a mind-games approach to ensure Boston has as little time as possible to prepare for Game 1. The Red Sox, on the other hand, haven’t commented publicly at all about potential wild-card lineup plans.
MLB hasn’t yet released first pitch times for the Red Sox-Yankees series, but here’s the current schedule information:
Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29 on NBC and Peacock
Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30 on NBC and Peacock
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1 on NBC and Peacock
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