Red Sox power past Cole to win wild card game

*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*

Boston wins series 1-0

   It was the loudest that the Fenway Park crowd has been in a long while. It was the perfect night for a win, so the Boston Red Sox went out and executed. Xander Bogaerts homered, Kyle Schwarber homered, and the Red Sox won the AL Wild card game with a 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

   With the win, it's the first time the Red Sox have knocked out the Yankees in a winner take all playoff game since game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, when Boston completed an improbable comeback to advance to the world series, which they won. This time, they get to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, with game one getting underway on Thursday night in Tampa Bay. 

   JD Martinez was out of the lineup and off the wild card roster for the Red Sox, as he was dealing with an injury sustained on Sunday. This made manager Alex Cora get a little creative with his lineup order, making Schwarber the leadoff hitter, and Kike Hernandez, the normal leadoff hitter, batting second, with Alex Verdugo hitting 5th.

   Cora said of the remade lineup that "This is the first time with Kyle hitting leadoff and Kiké hitting second, and we had to do it because of the situation we're in. And right away, they pitch around Raffy and they pay the price. Xander put a great swing on a slider and hit it out of the ballpark, and Kyle hit the home run. I think the top of the order was amazing today. It's what they do."

   Bogaerts gave the Red Sox and the Fenway faithful the quick offense they were looking for in the first inning, blasting a two out, two run home run to straightaway center field, and the Red Sox jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. In the 3rd inning, Schwarber added to the lead, homering to deep right field and giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead early. 

   It stayed that way until the top of the 6th, when Anthony Rizzo got the Yankees on the board with a solo home run around the pesky pole to make it a 3-1 game. In the bottom half, Verdugo lined an RBI double into the right field corner, scoring Bogaerts to give the Red Sox a 3 run lead once again, by a 4-1 score. In the 7th, Verdugo laced a two run single to give Boston a 6-1 lead. In the 9th, Giancarlo Stanton homered to make it 6-2, but the damage was already done, ending the Yankees season.

   Nathan Eovaldi got the start for the Red Sox, and he showed up to the big stage, allowing one run on 4 hits, walking no one and racking up 8 strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings the Red Sox desperately needed, also getting the win. Ryan Brasier came on and finished the 6th inning for Eovaldi, followed by Tanner Houck, Hansel Robles, and Garrett Whitlock closing out the Yankees to wrap the game up.

   Asked to describe Eovaldi's performance, Cora said "Nate was great. When I went to the mound, he gave me this look, like, 'What are you doing?' It's a tough game to manage, of course. If it's a five-game or seven-game series, we'll keep him there. But the way our bullpen was and the way we feel about them, I felt like that was the time."

   Gerrit Cole got the start for the Yankees, and did not exactly live up to the big stage, getting pulled in the 3rd inning after allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and two walks, striking out 3 hitters in two innings pitched, getting just 6 outs in his biggest start of the year. In relief, Clay Holmes threw two innings, Luis Severino threw 1 1/3 innings, Jonathan Loaisiga threw one inning, and Chad Green added 1 2/3 innings, with Severino and Loaisiga being responsible for the other 3 Red Sox runs.

   Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge talked about a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Yankees, saying that "We just didn’t get the job done, all season long. We’ve got to keep working. Individually and as a team, there’s a lot of things that we need to continue to work on and continue to improve to push us to the next level. So I guess it’s back to the drawing board."

   The Red Sox face the Rays in the ALDS on Thursday, with no announced starter, but both Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta will be candidates on enough rest. The Yankees head home for the winter, with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training on February 14 in Tampa, FL.