When Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that no one was picking his team to make the postseason in the American League, there were plenty of naysayers who came out to share receipts of preseason predictions, many of which had the Red Sox comfortably in the playoffs. However, the subtext of Cora's comments wasn't about preseason predictions but, rather, about Boston being written off after the Rafael Devers trade and with their growing array of injuries.
Considering that the Red Sox enter the AL Wild Card Series on the road against the rival New York Yankees with Devers now a member of the San Francisco Giants, with Roman Anthony, Triston Casas, Marcelo Mayer, Dustin May, Liam Hendriks and many more on the IL, with Walker Buehler being a complete bust in Boston, and with Alex Bregman having missed essentially two months, I'm not sure anyone would've predicted this team being in this spot knowing that. Hell, even Lucas Giolito, who was a stalwart in the rotation, isn't on the Wild Card roster due to injury.
But here they are.
The Red Sox are playing postseason baseball for the first time since 2021, and it almost feels fated that it'd be against their hated rivals, the Yankees, on the road in the Bronx. New York enters as the notable favorite to win the three-game series, and few are expecting anything other than a spirited fight from Boston. However, never underestimate the team playing with house money when the playoffs start.
In a postseason format that's characterized by streaks and momentum, the Red Sox could be dangerous, especially when it starts with the Yankees and what Boston has done to their rivals over the past two decades and even in this season.
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The Yankees haven't beaten the Red Sox in the postseason since 2003
Perhaps because of memories of the Curse of the Bambino, a perennial national portrayal of a "Big brother, Littler brother" situation, or maybe even as simple as finishing below the Yankees in the regular season, the Red Sox are widely viewed as the underdogs in the Wild Card series. However, recent history tells us that simply might be a mistake when it comes to the playoffs.
The Red Sox have eliminated the Yankees from the postseason in their last three October meetings. Of course, that goes all the way back to 2004, when Boston broke the curse with the historic ALCS comeback from 3-0 down, but the fact that this franchise hasn't succumbed to their rival under the bright lights of the postseason since their monumental ALCS and then World Series win speaks volumes.
There was the 2004 comeback, but also the 2018 ALDS that the Red Sox won 3-1 and then the 2021 AL Wild Card Game before the format change to a three-game series. New York's last win came in 2003 and the unforgettable Aaron Boone home run that sent Boston packing — but since then, it's been all Sox as they enter this sixth postseason meeting between the two bitter rivals.
It goes just beyond the head-to-head record, though. Since the Yankees ousted the Red Sox in the 2003 World Series, Boston has gone on to win four World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018), including beating their rivals twice en route to hoisting the hardware. Meanwhile, even though New York and their fans will boast about the 27 rings, they have just one since the Red Sox comeback in '04, which came in 2009.
Now, for the 2025 playoffs in particular, it remains to be seen how much the recent upper hand Boston has enjoyed will actually matter. These teams are much different than they were even in 2021 and, more importantly, the majority of the Yankees roster has substantially more postseason experience than anyone on the Red Sox.
And yet, perhaps the youth and inherent naivety of the Red Sox in October is actually something that could help Boston given what this year's regular season looked like.
Red Sox dominated the Yankees during the regular season
Though you might remember a September series victory for the Yankees to conclude the regular-season chapter of the rivalry, the season as a whole completely went the way of the Red Sox. Overall, Boston went 9-4 this year against their bitter rivals, a run that included winning three of the four series between the two sides.
Perhaps even more pressing for the postseason, the Red Sox went 5-2 at Yankee Stadium this season, winning both series that they played behind enemy lines. That could portend an upset brewing for the Wild Card series in itself.
But what really stands out is that Boston didn't just beat the rival Yankees, they did so in a variety of ways.
If you were wondering if the Red Sox could win in a high-scoring affair in New York, they did so with back-to-back 10-7 and 11-7 victories in their first series at Yankee Stadium this year. They swept New York the next week while not scoring more than four runs in any single game. It was a mixed bag with 6-3, 1-0, and 12-1 victories to start a four-game set in August. And even in Boston's one series loss, they jumped out to a Yankees-esque six-run lead in the first inning and then held on.
Boston doesn't have to just be happy to be here in the playoffs
Amid all of the injuries and the inexperience, it's entirely understandable why the Red Sox are viewed as the underdogs, particularly in this series with the Yankees. That doesn't have to be the way that this team views it, however, nor does it have to be the ceiling of what this team can accomplish.
Boston has had the edge over the Yankees this season and, even without Anthony in the lineup for the AL Wild Card series, the three-game format could give the Red Sox more than a puncher's chance. Garrett Crochet vs. Max Fried in Game 1 is as must-see as you'll find, and if the Red Sox' ace were able to come through, the team that has won the first game of this three-game Wild Card set to this point is 12-0 in advancing to the Division Series.
What we also can't forget is that Alex Cora has a recent history with a happy-go-lucky group in Boston that some see as just "lucky to be here". The last time the Red Sox were in the playoffs in 2021, not only did they eliminate the Yankees in the Wild Card Game, but it was also a lineup that looked just as makeshift. Here's a look at the Boston lineup for that eventual win over New York:
- DH Kyle Schwarber
- CF Kiké Hernandez
- 3B Rafael Devers
- SS Xander Bogaerts
- LF Alex Verdugo
- RF Hunter Renfroe
- C Kevin Plawecki
- 1B Bobby Dalbec
- 2B Christian Arroyo
While the 2025 team might have slightly less star power with Anthony out, it's not that dissimilar still. Moreover, there's the simple fact that, while every Red Sox fan loves Nathan Eovaldi and what he did in that game and in the postseason overall, he's not the ace that Crochet has proven to be, nor did that Boston rotation have the depth that the 2025 unit does, even without Lucas Giolito. The same is definitely true of the Red Sox bullpen as well.
Every Red Sox fan is excited to just see postseason baseball again. There's even more juice that it's against the Yankees to add to the adrenaline. Yet, there are signs that just making it into October doesn't have to be all that Boston is aiming for.
As Kevin Millar famously said in 2004, "Don't let us win tonight." And these Red Sox should have that same mentality. After all, when you're playing with house money, what else do you have to lose?