What does that mean?
“No idea,” said Alex Cora, who got past the Yankees in both of his two postseasons (2018 ALDS, 2021 Wild Card) as Red Sox manager. “Never done it before, so it’s a learning experience for me.”
The Red Sox forged a .692 winning percentage this year against the Yankees, tied for their fourth-highest mark ever against their archrivals, and tied for their best since 1973. That said, while the Sox were 9-4 against the Yankees, the final series — when the Yankees won two of three at Fenway in September — offered a reminder that precedent isn’t binding, particularly given New York’s evolution this season.
The Yankees finished the year with a 25-8 surge after Aug. 8 — easily the best record in baseball in that time. As that run, and the September series in Fenway suggested, the Yankees are now a better-rounded team than before the trade deadline and the first weeks of August, when many of their pickups were injured.
The Yankees engaged in an active reshaping to numerous corners of the roster. They loaded their bullpen with righties David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird, infielders Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario, and José Caballero, and outfielder Austin Slater.
“Unfortunately, we had to [overhaul the roster]. That wasn’t the plan,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said recently. “We did have a lot of moves. … We just did a lot of things that we’d hope would really help us. Some haven’t worked out and some helped.”
Bednar (2.28 ERA, 35 percent strikeout rate) has been dominant at the back end of the bullpen. Third baseman McMahon helped stabilize the team’s infield defense. And Caballero has added multi-dimensional electricity, hitting .266/.372/.456 with 15 steals in 40 games.
“More athletic,” Cora said of how the Yankees are different now. “Obviously, they made some decisions with their personnel. Caballero, he’s playing well at short. Running the bases is different. The last team that came here was different in that aspect.”
Improved offensive versatility — as well as a dominant performance from Aaron Judge (5 for 10, 2 solo homers, 4 walks) — helped the Yankees score more consistently in that series. Over a six-game midyear stretch between them, the Sox held New York’s elite offense to 1.3 runs per game. In the final series in Fenway, the Yankees scored at least four in each contest.
Even with those results, the Sox held the Yankees to 3.6 runs per game this year — impressive against a team that led the big leagues with 5.2 runs per game and 274 homers. But the degree of difficulty for Red Sox pitchers — starting with ace Garrett Crochet in Game 1 — could rise given the growing familiarity of Sox pitching.
“The pitching staff has been amazing, especially against them. But at the same time, they know our tendencies, our plan, what we’re trying to do,” said catcher Carlos Narváez. “[Our] plan [for the Wild Card series] is going to be very similar. If we need to adjust, we’re gonna adjust.”
The Sox, meanwhile, are likely to face lefties Max Fried and Carlos Rodón in the first two games. That tandem was among the most dominant top-of-the-rotation duos in recent years, becoming the first teammates to each throw at least 190 innings with an ERA+ of 130 or better since 2019 (when the Astros had Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander vs. the Nationals Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin in the World Series).
Fried was excellent this year in three starts against the Sox, forging a 1.96 ERA in 18⅓ innings — even though the Sox had nine hits over 5⅓ innings against him in their last meeting. Rodón, meanwhile, allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in 15⅔ innings vs. the Sox.
The Sox have struggled over the last six weeks against southpaws. Since Aug. 18, lefty starters posted a 2.56 ERA. But Cora is optimistic that righthanded bats such as platoon option Rob Refsnyder can complement mainstays such as Alex Bregman, Trevor Story, and Romy Gonzalez.
“We have [handled lefties] throughout the year, and we’re going to keep doing it,” said Cora of his team that ranked in the top five in average (.258) and OBP (.326) against lefties this year. “Obviously, we struggled for a little bit of it, but we put [up] good at-bats against Fried, good at-bats against Rodón throughout the season, and we expect to do the same thing.”
It will be a series with few secrets — where familiarity will fuel competition, and perhaps a hint of contempt.
“I’m sure that the environment will have that borderline toxicity feel to it that you come to experience throughout the season when you go there,” enthused Crochet.
“We’ve had good battles all season,” added shortstop Trevor Story. “Recently, we played well [in Yankee Stadium], and I think that always serves us well. But we know it’s gonna be a battle. We know it’s gonna be a grind, so we’re looking forward to getting there.
“Obviously we have a lot of history with them and they have a lot of history with us. We know each other really well. So it’s gonna be a fun matchup.”