The rivalry is back as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees faced off in the wild card round of the 2026 MLB playoffs. 

These two teams were pretty even throughout the regular season, with the Yankees winning the season series by just one game. However, they had two very different paths to get here. The Yankees were in a good spot for most of the season with few problems, but the Red Sox had to battle back from one of the worst starts in history. 

During Game 1, there was a battle between two pitchers; a current ace and potential future ace as Cam Schlittler and Payton Tolle faced off to open the game. 

Schlittler historically has dominated the Red Sox throughout his career, with the first game of the series being no different. 

He started the first inning by punching out three Red Sox batters, but Tolle followed up with a successful inning of his own, setting the Yankees down after a Ben Rice double. 

The first key moment came in the bottom of the second, as Austin Wells hit an RBI single to put the Yankees on top 1-0. 

Schlittler followed that with two more strikeouts to keep the momentum on the Yankees side. 

In the fifth inning, Tolle came out of the game as Red Sox reliever Erik Miller came in to face Rice, who hit a homerun to add to the Yankees lead and make it 2-0. Schlittler continued to dominate against Boston as he finished with 10 strikeouts and gave up zero runs. 

The Red Sox had a chance in the seventh but a double play ball from Ceddanne Rafaela put a quick end to those hopes. 

Rice hurt the Red Sox again in the eighth as he hit a grand slam to seal Game 1 for the Yankees.

Game 2 was another classic matchup between two veterans with Max Fried and Sonny Gray who have each had success throughout the regular season. 

Both pitchers got through the first few innings without issues, but the run came from Luis Garicía Jr. who hit on Gray for a solo home run. 

The next inning, Cody Bellinger singled to bring in another run for New York. 

Boston, who has not scored a run in a postseason game for 26 innings, finally got one from a Wilson Contreras home run. 

However, it did not help the Red Sox in the long run, as the Yankees blew things open again in the next inning with another grand slam, this time from Bellinger.

The Yankees eliminated their arch-rival for the second year in a row, setting them up for a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series.