The New York Yankees are still breathing.
Austin Wells lined a go-ahead RBI single down the right-field line in the eighth inning, sending Jazz Chisholm Jr. racing home with the decisive run in a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night in the Bronx. The win evened the American League Wild Card series at one game apiece and set up a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday night.
Carlos Rodón gave up three runs over six innings, including Trevor Story’s two-run single in the third and a solo homer in the sixth. The Yankees answered early with a two-run home run from Ben Rice, and Aaron Judge’s bloop RBI single in the fifth briefly put them back on top.
But it was Chisholm who changed the game with his legs and his glove. After drawing a walk with two outs in the eighth, he scored from first on Wells’ single with a headfirst slide that ignited the Stadium crowd. An inning earlier, he had made a diving stop up the middle to prevent a potential go-ahead run from scoring.
Reliever Fernando Cruz worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to preserve the tie, pumping his fist after stranding three runners. Devin Williams worked a scoreless eighth before David Bednar shut the door in the ninth.
Since MLB expanded its postseason in 2022, teams that lost Game 1 of the Wild Card round have never advanced. The Yankees now have a chance to change that history, with rookie Cam Schlittler set to start Game 3 against Boston’s rookie Connelly Early.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].