The Red Sox And Yankees Are Set To Continue Their Rivalry In The Playoffs And It's Clear The Sox Are In A Much Better Spot To Knock Off New York This Year

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Baseball is a team game. 

It takes everyone playing well. 

One guy can't do it all. 

Blah blah bah. 

As the Red Sox get set to play the Yankees for the second straight season in MLB's best-of-three Wild Card round, I honestly have ave no clue if they'll actually find a way to take two of three from their rival and advance to the ALDS. 

But they're much better equipped to do so than they were a year ago. 

Last year, the team didn't clinch a playoff spot until game #160. It put them wayyyyyy behind the proverbial eight ball. This season, they spent most of September playing meaningless games, knowing they had already basically punched their ticket to the postseason. If you're looking for doom and gloom because they have a bad September record, you've come to the wrong place. I could give a shit about the September record. 

What is much more meaningful is the guys who are here in 2026, ready to take the field tonight at Yankee Stadium. 

Al Bello. Getty Images.

And Roman Anthony is at the top of that list.

He started his 2026 baseball season as a standout for the Team USA WBC team. Guys like Aaron Judge (not on the playoff roster, huh?) were glowing about the way he handled himself - and that was among the biggest stars in the game. Then the Red Sox season started, and that guy from the WBC was nowhere to be found. 

He batted just .208 with 1 (!!!???) home run in the first 25 games of the season. He started to heat up in May, and then he got hurt.

The Red Sox fucked up the communication about the injury, and then the team's CEO had to apologize to Anthony on the radio. 

Then they shipped Roman off to Florida to rehab his wrist. That led to all sorts of talk about Anthony. Weird shit. 

He came back and, over the final eight games of the season, hit .333 with an OPS over 1.000 - they NEED that guy leading off against a very good Yankees rotation. 

Jarren Duran and freakin' Rob Refsnyder were the leadoff hitters for the team against the Yankees last year in the Wild Card. Anthony is such an upgrade over those two it's not even funny. This bald blogger does have the words. 

I guess I'll put it this way: Roman Anthony being healthy and leading off is the biggest reason why this year's Red Sox team is better equipped to beat the Yankees in the playoffs. But he's not the only reason. 

Brian Fluharty. Getty Images.

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Better pitching

• Payton Tolle had one of the best rookie seasons of any Red Sox starting pitcher. 
• Sonny Gray locked in 18 wins at age 36. 
• Last year, the Sox had to start rookie Connelly Early in the win-or-go-home Game 3. If the series gets to a Game 3 on Thursday, Ranger Suarez gets the ball for Boston. With a 1.48 playoff ERA over 48+ innings, you can make the case that Ranger is one of the best playoff starters of this era. 

Against Gerrit Cole? With his failures against the Red Sox? I'd 100% take Suarez in that matchup.

After Garrett Crochet last year, the Sox went Bello / Early. The Yankees have the starting edge on paper, but the Sox have upgraded overall from 2025. 

Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox. Getty Images.

Small Ball

So hear me out.

When the Red Sox struggled to score runs this season, Chad Tracy played small ball. The Sox ended up with 36 sacrifice bunts this season - third most in the AL and sixth in all of baseball. They had to play that way. In a series where runs will probably come at a premium, I think this comes into play. 

Yes, in the year 2026, I'm suggesting small ball will be a factor. 

There are some other things in the Red Sox favor. Willson Contreras is healthy enough to make the roster, and he's going to do something to get under the Yankees' skin (and their fans). Willson has been the team's heart and soul this season. Garrett Crochet might be a weapon out of the pen. Speaking of, the back end of the Sox pen has been elite. This year's team is a better defensive group than last year. 

As for the Yankees - don't the vibes seem weird? No Judge. Cam Schlittler keeps talking about NOT talking about Red Sox fans and social media. Three games at Yankee Stadium, they're supposed to win this series. Losing would be a massive failure. I like New York getting that pressure. 

The best way to get ready for Game 1 is Episode 72 of Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast. Hog, Ed and I talked the series and made some predictions, and broke down the rest of the MLB Playoffs. 

Go watch and subscribe on YouTube. Then go listen and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. 

Oh, and then watch the Game 1 stream tonight from the NY Gambling Cave across all the Barstool platforms.