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A32 sports
Diaranson 6 october 2021

Longtime rivals Red Sox, Yankees, back at it in AL wild card

’Tek shoved A-Rod, where 11, but Boston has won seven ter the pandemic-shortened
Roger returned, where Pedro of the last eight. 2020 season, the Red Sox
pushed Zimmer and where held the edge over the Yan-
Dave Roberts stole second to Twice series have come down kees for most of the year but
make everyone all-but forget to a win-or-go-home seventh fell behind after a New York
about everything that hap- game, in the 2003 and ’04 sweep in Boston from Sept.
pened up until then. ALCS. Each team has won 24-26. The Red Sox swept
one of them. the Nationals on the final
“There’s a buzz here,” said weekend while the Yankees
New York manager Aaron Red Sox manager Alex Cora, lost two of three to the AL
Boone, himself a Boston who arrived in Boston as a East champion Rays to finish
beater with an 11th-inning, player in 2005, right after the tied at 92-70; Boston earned
walk-off home run in Game most recent heyday of the home-field advantage by vir-
7 of the 2003 AL Champi- rivalry, said back then it was tue of its 10-9 head-to-head
onship Series at Yankee Sta- fueled by players such as Da- record against New York.
dium. vid Ortiz, Manny Ramirez,
(AP) — Oh, it’s on. tween the teams. “You’re Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. That helped avoid tiebreakers
dreaming about putting “It matters here. It’s fun to that would have necessitated
A day before he is scheduled yourself in that position, and compete in games here. It’s “It was more about the char- a Game 163 on Monday in
to face the Red Sox in the coming through for your tough to compete in games acters, the players, bigger- Boston.
AL wild-card game, New team. And here we are.” here,” Boone said. “Yeah, I than-life,” he said. “It was
York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole think there will be some ten- like, ‘Wow, these guys are un- It’s a good thing, too.
dropped the name that dare Forty-three years after Dent’s sion, electricity. Everything believable.’
not be spoken within the homer helped the Yankees you could hope for for a Rain fell steadily in the city,
confines of Fenway Park — beat Boston to break a tie for winner-take-all game in the “They used to fight, too, back and the tarp never came off
at least not since the last one- the AL East title, the teams playoffs and two outstanding in the day, so I think that gave the Fenway infield for what
game playoff between the meet again for one game, franchises and teams.” it a little bit more for the fan became a workout day for
longtime rivals was decided with the winner this time base,” Cora said. “We have the wild-card qualifiers. The
by a light-hitting shortstop advancing to face the Tampa It will be the fifth time the great players ... two teams are Yankees made it optional,
popping the go-ahead homer Bay Rays in an AL Division teams have met in the play- playing for the same thing. with about half the team
over the Green Monster. Series. offs — the 1978 tiebreaker Throughout the season, it’s coming to the ballpark but
counted as part of the regu- been a roller-coaster ride.” doing their work indoors;
“Bucky Dent, right?” Cole Cole (16-8) faces Nathan lar season — with each club about a dozen Red Sox played
said when asked what he Eovaldi (11-9) in Boston, winning twice. In postseason With baseball returning to a catch in the outfield.
knew about the history be- where Dent homered, where games, New York leads 12- full, 162-game schedule af-