The inter-league Major League Baseball rivalry series goes to the guys from Boston….
They always had October. They always had that thought about twisting home field to their advantage come October, and reducing the meaning of April through September.
That was what sustained the Yankees after that early-August four-game sweep at Fenway pretty much assured Boston the AL East crown. Sure, the Red Sox were going to win the battle, but the baseball war would be more vital and determined in the playoffs. The Yankees had convinced themselves that the eight-game deficit in the regular season was not indicative of how close the rivals were in 2018.
Except it was. That was no mirage. The Red Sox are better. They dominated the Division Series as they had the 162 games — out-hitting, out-pitching, out-defending, out-managing and out-executiving the Yankees (if for nothing else, getting J.D. Martinez compared to Giancarlo Stanton). They even outdid the Yankees where they felt invincible — the Bronx.
Just as they dreamed, the Yanks gained the home-field advantage by homering their way to a Game 2 win at Fenway. But the raucous party at the Stadium was muted by poor starting pitching from Luis Severino and CC Sabathia, Aaron Boone’s flabbergasting decision on consecutive nights to stick beyond an acceptable point with those ineffective starters and Boston’s unplugging of an offense that usually rises at home.
“When push came to shove, they just executed better than us,” Neil Walker said.
The Red Sox won both games on the road, holding on in the end Tuesday night for a 4-3 triumph. That gave Boston this Division Series three games to one and moved the Red Sox on to play the Astros for the AL pennant….
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