Red Sox and Yankees Set for Pivotal Game 2 in AL Wild Card Series
Boston leads the series 1-0; Game 2 features a pitching matchup between Brayan Bello and Carlos Rodón.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are set to face off in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. Boston leads the best-of-three series 1-0 after a 3-1 victory in Game 1.
Brayan Bello will start for the Red Sox. Bello had an 11-9 record with a 3.35 ERA during the regular season. He has performed well at Yankee Stadium, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.44 ERA in five career starts there. His most recent outing in the Bronx was a seven-inning shutout on August 22.
Carlos Rodón will take the mound for the Yankees. Rodón finished the regular season with an 18-9 record and a 3.09 ERA. In three starts against Boston this season, he went 1-2 with a 5.74 ERA. His best performance against the Red Sox was on August 24, when he allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in a win.
Historically, teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-three Wild Card Series have advanced 90% of the time, including 16 sweeps. Red Sox manager Alex Cora commented, "Hopefully we can continue that. We have a tough one tomorrow again. Rodón has been amazing throughout this season."
The Red Sox have eliminated the Yankees in their last three postseason meetings: the 2004 AL Championship Series, the 2018 AL Division Series, and the 2021 Wild Card Game. Yankees captain Aaron Judge stated, "We're going to keep playing our game. We're coming into this postseason rolling, everybody clicking, bullpen working, starting pitching has been elite. So we'll just focus on what we've got to do."
Game 2 is scheduled for 6:08 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.