Red Sox's First-Round Playoff Opponent Revealed After Wild Day Across MLB

As it turned out, the Red Sox's win wasn't just window dressing. It meant they finished the regular season 89-73 instead of 88-74, and it also resulted in minor-league call-up José De Leon's first major league win on the mound since 2019. But it also guaranteed they'd finish ahead of Detroit, securing the five-seed instead of the six in the AL

The Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays both won as well, and because the Blue Jays owned the tiebreaker over New York, they earned themselves the No. 1 seed in the American League. That dropped the Yankees to No. 4, meaning they'll host a Wild Card Series.

And because there could be no other opponent, the second wild-card team, and the team that will head to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for a best-of-three showdown, was the Red Sox.

Boston and New York have faced off in the playoffs five times in their history. The Yankees won the ALCS against Boston in 1999 and 2003. But beginning with the epic 3-0 comeback in the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox enter this week on a three-series winning streak. The other wins came in the 2018 ALDS and the 2021 Wild Card Game.

The two teams have their starting rotations set up perfectly. The aces will take the mound in Game 1, with Boston's Garrett Crochet meeting New York's Max Fried. Carlos Rodón will toe the rubber in Game 2 for the Yankees, while the Red Sox will counter with either Brayan Bello (that's the prediction here) or Lucas Giolito.

If it goes to a deciding Game 3, the winds would seem to be blowing toward a Lucas Giolito-Cam Schlittler matchup, though neither team has confirmed anything of the sort.

The Red Sox took the season series from the Yankees by a tally of nine games to four, including a 5-2 record at Yankee Stadium. They'll need to keep that momentum rolling into this series to be successful.