Crochet Dominates, Red Sox Beat Yankees 3-1

The Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 3-1 in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. Garrett Crochet excelled in his first postseason start, throwing 117 pitches over 7 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts, no walks and a stretch of 17 consecutive outs. Masataka Yoshida’s pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh gave Boston the lead and Alex Bregman’s RBI double in the ninth added insurance. Aroldis Chapman escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth to earn the save after the Yankees removed Max Fried following 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Manager Alex Cora’s left-handed bullpen matchups, including not warming Garrett Whitlock, proved decisive, and the series continues with Game 2 on Wednesday night.