Yankee Stadium (New York) – In the build-up to Sunday’s first pitch, Aaron Boone didn’t know how the Yankees would get through the game. It was an exhausting and pressure-packed weekend in the Bronx, featuring a four-game series between the Red Sox and Yankees with everything on the line. It culminated with the division rivals playing three games in two days following Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday afternoon’s matinée. There are quick turnarounds, and then there’s playing 36 innings of baseball in 45 hours. As if the schedule wasn’t intense enough, the Yankees and Red Sox entered the rivalry series just two games apart in the AL East. New York owned the edge, with Boston breathing down its neck. The rivals entered Sunday’s finale with the season series tied 6-6. The winner of Sunday’s game earned home-field advantage in a potential wild-card series between the Yankees and Red Sox. The stakes had never been higher. For both squads dreaming about October, Sunday’s finale was the biggest game of the season thus far. Here are four takeaways from a dramatic weekend at Yankee Stadium:1.The Yankees didn’t mess around on Sunday. They embarrassed the Red Sox in a 16-1 blowout win that solidified their position with home-field advantage should they meet again in a wild-card series to kick off the playoffs in October. The Yankees created real distance in the standings, increasing their lead to four games over the Red Sox – which is really five games, given the tiebreaker implications.Boone credited his players for coming into the finale with “a pep in our step,” especially after Saturday’s day/night doubleheader. New York’s skipper was also working with a taxed bullpen, so he needed his starting pitcher to dig deep on Sunday. Right-hander Will Warren answered the call. The 27-year-old stepped up and pitched a shutout into the eighth inning. After the Yankees lineup broke out for an offensive performance that more closely resembled an NFL score, the club only needed one other pitcher, left-hander Tim Hill, to finish the game.”I think I was fearless in the zone,” said Warren, who struck out seven Red Sox hitters. Boone termed Sunday afternoon the best performance of Warren’s career, and the righty agreed. Before the series finale, Boone and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy both tried to downplay the importance of winning the home-field edge.Boone said that, of course, he’d prefer to have it, but he also believes that oftentimes…
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2026-08-31 01:16:43
