For however much I hate the Yankees, I always have to give them this: their fans are great losers. I don't mean this in the traditional sense of a gracious loser, someone who says "aww shucks, we'll get 'em next time" and offers to shake your hand - no, that's milquetoast and boring and I have no time for it. I mean that - generally speaking - they don't make excuses and, instead, go all in on eviscerating their own team with a fervor even we struggle to match (see, e.g., Mike Francesa's famous post-mortem after the 2004 ALCS).
Garrett Crochet retired 17 consecutive batters in a sparkling pitching performance, and pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida lined a two-run single off reliever Luke Weaver that sent the Boston Red Sox past the New York Yankees 3-1 on Tuesday night in their AL Wild Card Series opener. New York loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning, but All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman worked out of the jam against his former team.
Major League Baseball announced yesterday that the automated ball-strike challenge system will be implemented in the 2026 season, complete with a corporate partnership with T-Mobile. (Yes, that's where we are in late capitalism: rules now have corporate sponsors.) If you've been to any AAA games over the past few years, or paid attention during spring training, then you already know how this works. Every team starts each game with two challenges, which are retained when a challenge is successful.
NEW YORK (AP) - Garrett Crochet struck out 11 in seven innings, Trevor Story homered and drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 12-1 on Saturday. Star rookie Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman each drove in a run for Boston, which defeated New York for the eighth straight time after losing the rivals' first meeting on June 6. The Red Sox, second in the NL East to Toronto, moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the division.
Garrett Crochet displayed elite pitching by successfully stranding baserunners and overcoming challenging situations, while Clayton Kershaw struggled with his command and faced difficulties escaping jams.
