Bronx, NY — Austin Wells delivered in the clutch Wednesday night, lining a go-ahead single in the eighth inning to lift the Yankees past the Red Sox 4–3 in Game 2 of their American League Wild Card series. The win kept New York’s season alive and set up a decisive winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
The series is now tied 1–1, with the winner moving on to face the top-seeded Toronto Blue Jays in the Division Series on Saturday. Boston had taken the opener 3–1 behind Garrett Crochet’s dominant start.
Wells’ Breakthrough
Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock retired the first two batters of the eighth before issuing a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. On a full count, Wells turned on a changeup and sent it slicing down the right-field line. Chisholm, running hard from first, dove headfirst across the plate just ahead of Nate Eaton’s throw, giving the Yankees the lead they would not relinquish.
Chisholm had sat out Game 1 due to a lefty-lefty matchup but made his presence felt in Game 2.
Early Power, Steady Pitching
Rookie Ben Rice wasted no time making his postseason mark, blasting a two-run homer in the opening frame off Boston starter Brayan Bello. Aaron Judge later added an RBI single in the fifth to give New York a 3–2 lead.
On the other side, Trevor Story almost single-handedly kept the Red Sox afloat. He tied the game 2–2 with a two-run single in the third, then knotted it again with a solo home run to start the sixth.
Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón battled through six-plus innings, giving up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. From there, New York’s bullpen slammed the door, throwing three scoreless innings.
Fernando Cruz stranded the bases loaded in the seventh by retiring Story on a long flyout. Devin Williams worked out of a jam in the eighth, and David Bednar struck out two in the ninth to secure his first postseason save.
Red Sox Wear Down
Boston cycled through six pitchers after Bello faltered early. The right-hander lasted just 2⅓ innings, surrendering two runs on four hits before being lifted at 28 pitches.
All Eyes on Game 3
The series now shifts to a decisive finale. The Yankees will hand the ball to rookie Cam Schlittler, a Massachusetts native who climbed from Double-A to the big leagues this season, posting a 2.96 ERA in 73 innings. The Red Sox counter with fellow rookie Connelly Early, who has impressed in limited action with a 2.33 ERA over 19⅓ innings.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET on Thursday. For one club, the reward is a ticket to Toronto. For the other, the season ends on the Bronx stage.
