The New York Yankees swept past the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Series, powered by home runs from Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger and strong starts from pitchers Cam Schlittler and Max Fried in Games 1 and 2.
The win sends Aaron Boone’s club into a best-of-five AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, led by Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz, under manager Kevin Cash.
If the series reaches home games at Yankee Stadium, Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Game 4 for Thursday, Oct. 8.
The Yankees have not yet announced their full rotation for the series, but Gerrit Cole appears likely to start given he was lined up to pitch Game 3 of the Wild Card Series. Boone addressed the pitching plans in a postgame interview.
“Gerrit’s lined up for that. Carlos is very much in play for that. We have a ton of confidence in both guys,” Boone said.
The Rays are set to start Drew Masmussen (16-5, 2.67 ERA) in Game 1. Beyond that, no starters have been officially confirmed for either team, though Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and possibly Carlos Rodón could take the mound for New York, while Freddy Peralta, Shane McClanahan and Nick Martinez are possibilities for Tampa Bay.
The two AL East rivals faced off 13 times during the regular season, with Tampa Bay winning seven of those games. Their most recent meeting came on Sept. 24, a 6-4 Yankees win at home in which Austin Wells and George Lombard hit home runs and Michael Fulmer earned the win in relief.
Yankees playoff games are scheduled to air on ESPN.
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