Yankees’ daunting Garrett Crochet task as they renew Red Sox rivalry

And so they meet again. 

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry may not be what it once was, but the postseason edition of it will be renewed on Tuesday night in the wild-card series at Yankee Stadium, with a trip to the ALDS on the line. 

“They got the better of us this year,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday after a 3-2 win over the Orioles. “We won the last series. It’s always a battle. It’s coming down to three games between the two of us. Hopefully we can back up our last series with another series win against them.” 

The Red Sox won the season series 9-4, which included winning eight straight games before the Yankees took two of three at Fenway Park earlier this month. 

But the Yankees will have their hands full in Game 1 against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, who in four starts against them this season has gone 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 27 ¹/₃ innings. The only game in which he did not record a win against the Yankees this season was in June, when Aaron Judge broke up his shutout with a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, only for the Red Sox to win it in 10 innings. 

“He can run it up to 100 miles an hour, work all of his pitches in the zone when he needs to. He’s a tough matchup,” Judge said. “It’s probably why he’s, if not one of the best, the best pitcher in the game right now and probably on his way to a Cy Young. It’s impressive what he’s done so far this year. Looking forward to facing him.” 

In his career against Crochet — who finished the season with a 2.59 ERA and 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings — Judge is 3-for-15 with 11 strikeouts, though two of those hits are home runs. 

“One of the game’s best, obviously,” Boone said. “He’s had success against us. We’ve dinged him a little bit, too. Hopefully that familiarity serves us well going into Tuesday.” 

Max Fried will square off against Crochet after also having success against the Red Sox during the regular season, posting a 1.96 ERA in three starts. Carlos Rodón and Brayan Bello are set to square off in Game 2 on Wednesday. 

This will mark the third playoff meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox since the infamous 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox won the 2018 ALDS in four games and the 2021 wild-card game, before the wild-card round was expanded to a best-of-three series. 

“It’s a good team and obviously such a historic rivalry,” said Ben Rice, who grew up a Yankees fan in Massachusetts. “It’ll be a fun series to be a part of and we’re going to put our best foot forward.”