Yankees Lose First Wild Card Game to Red Sox

The New York Yankees came up short in their first Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox, a game defined by the contest between Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet and the Yankees' offense. Crochet put in an unbelievable outing against the Yankees, and the Yankees' batters just couldn't keep up.

Crochet kept the Yankees off the board in the first inning, gave up one home run in the second, and ran a tight ship before retiring in the eighth inning. Crochet pitched a career-high 117 pitches over 7 1/3 innings, logging 11 strikeouts and just one earned run.

Garrett Crochet tallies 11 strikeouts through 7.2 innings pitched in his first postseason start 👏 pic.twitter.com/5CZuCezqjH
— ESPN (@espn) October 1, 2025

Anthony Volpe, who had a challenging regular season (to say the least), got the Yankees on the board with a solo homer in the second, taking the game to a 1-0 score that held until the seventh. Volpe has reportedly been struggling with a left shoulder injury since May, but after a second cortisone shot in September, has been bringing it offensively.

Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings before being replaced by Luke Weaver in the seventh. Fried finished the game with six strikeouts, four hits and zero runs.

A Maxsterclass!

Max Fried throws 6.1 shutout innings in his @Yankees #Postseason debut. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/r6HyiEIf84
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

Weaver's outing in the seventh inning began with a walk to Ceddanne Rafaela and a double from Nick Sogard before a single from Masataka Yoshida allowed them both to score, 2-1 Red Sox. Weaver was immediately replaced by Fernando Cruz, who got out of the inning clean. Devin Williams pitched a perfect eighth inning. David Bednar, in for the ninth, allowed a single from Trevor Story and a double from Alex Bregman, allowing Story to score and taking the score to 3-1.

At the bottom of the ninth with Aroldis Chapman pitching, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger each hit a single to load the bases. Chapman struck out Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm Jr. flied out, and Trent Grisham struck out to finish the game 3-1.

Sep 28, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) and outfielder Aaron Judge (99) slap hands after winning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The Yankees will play the Sox for one or two more games, depending on the second game's results. The Yankees will need to win both of the remaining contests in order to advance. If they lose tomorrow, they're out.

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