Another year, another Wild Card game. OK, so last year was a little bit different, but tonight’s Yankees-Red Sox matchup marks the fourth time the Yankees have appeared in this round in the last five years. All of these win-or-go-home games have been a bit much on our collective hearts, wouldn’t you say? Hopefully, all of you were able to rest up and relax on yesterday’s day off. There won’t be much R&R going forward, especially if the Yankees move on, as you know.
As exhausted as the rest of MLB-fandom seems with the Yankees and Red Sox rivalary, it seems only fitting that these two clubs play once more in 2021. The Yankees chased down Boston for much of the summer, finally surpassed them late in the year, only to finish even at 92-70 each. Of course, Boston held the tiebreaker thanks to a 10-9 season series advantage, which results in tonight’s game at Fenway Park.
There was no thought of a Wild Card matchup between these two clubs back in June or July. It seemed like Boston was going to run away with the division, or at least, only have to fend off Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Yankees sputtered. And to make matters worse, the Red Sox went 7-0 against the Yanks to start the season.
Then, the Yankees turned the narrative upside down in the second half. There were some big swings, namely extended winning and losing streaks, but it summed to just enough to clinch on the last day of the season. A huge, huge help was going 9-3 against the Red Sox to finish the season, including an epic sweep in Boston a week-and-a-half ago.
Tonight’s game gets underway in a little less than eleven hours from now. We’ll have updates between now and then either here or on Twitter. For now, our preview of the Wild Card game comes after the jump:
