Red Sox take three out of four from Yankees for half-game lead

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The Boston Red Sox are playing some of their best baseball of this 2025 Major League Baseball season, taking three out of four games against the Yankees this past weekend in New York. The Bombers were able to salvage the final game of this important series, snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Sox, who passed them in the American League wild-card standings.

The Sox staggered into this series losers of three straight games, including a couple of disappointing setbacks to the Baltimore Orioles. There was a sense of historical impending doom, which has been a part of this rivalry for over a century, since the Red Sox sold the great Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

The famous Curse of the Bambino stood for 86 years before the 2004 Red Sox pulled off one of the more amazing comebacks in Major League Baseball postseason history, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to upset the Yankees and beat the men in pinstripes, four games to three on their way to winning their first World Series title since 1918, the last year Ruth played for Boston.

Millions of Red Sox fans came and left this world wondering if their beloved team would ever win a World Series. When the last out was recorded against the St. Louis Cardinals to complete a four-game sweep in the 2004 fall classic, a euphoria broke out in the streets of Boston and throughout New England, and the term “Red Sox Nation” came into existence.

Since that time, the Red Sox have held a curse-like quality over the Yankees. From 2004 to date, the Red Sox have won four World Series titles, while the New York Yankees have won just one, something that haunts Yankees fans to no end.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. had two homers off the Sox in a 7-2 Yankee win. PHOTO: SETH WENIGX

Add to that the Sox’s domination of the Yanks this season by an 8-2 margin, and one can see why this current four-game series was so crucial to both teams. Coming into the series, New York held a two-game lead over Boston in the wild-card playoff standings, despite losing five straight games to Boston.

Game one of the series ended in a 6-3 Boston victory. Strong bullpen work, topped off by a clutch two-run homer by Sox rookie sensation Roman Anthony in the top of the ninth inning, proved to be the difference. Game two of the series was a very exciting pitching duel with Brayan Bello outdueling Mark Leiter Jr. in a classic 1-0 affair. Bello held the Yanks to just three hits over seven innings. The right-hander got kudos from his manager Alex Cora after his stellar performance.

“We talked a little bit about controlling the emotions,” said Cora, adding, “He’s still a kid. His life has changed the last two years, not only financially, but wife and kids. I think that has really helped him. Now, you see it. He’s a lot stronger than three years ago. He has evolved as a pitcher.”

Game three saw the Red Sox completely dismantle the home team before a sellout crowd who booed their team during a seven-run, ninth inning explosion that saw the visitors from Fenway put a 12-1 whipping on their team. Garrett Crochet, the ace of the Red Sox current pitching staff, showed why he holds that title, striking out 11 to run his record to 14-5 and up his team’s win streak over the Yankees to eight straight games — the longest streak of the Red Sox over the Yankees since 2009, some 16 years ago.

The New York media came down hard on the Yankees for their uninspired, shoddy play. Further, Yankee skipper, Aaron Boone, gave a tepid response to his team’s ups and downs, saying, “No, we’re not running out of time. I mean, but if we don’t do better, then it’s going to fizzle out and we’re not going to get to where we want to be.”

Following that 12-1 drubbing, a reported players-only team meeting set the stage for the final game of this critical four-game series. The Yankees got two home runs apiece from Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisolm to back a solid pitching performance from Yanks starter Carlos Rodon and take the final regular season meeting between the two teams by the final score of 7-2.

The Red Sox hold a slim half-game lead over the Yankees in the American League wild-card standings as of this writing. Barring a collapse by either team , their battle for playoff positioning should go down to the final days of this regular season.

The Red Sox’s 8-2 record could prove to be a decisive factor should the two teams tie in the regular season standings or meet in the playoffs. The Red Sox would have home-field advantage thanks to their superior regular-season record, a thought that brings great delight to every Red Sox fan and galls the Yankee faithful.

The beauty of this scenario is that the Red Sox are doing this with a young team that is maturing, while the Yankees are an older team that is starting to show cracks. The Red Sox’s starting pitching has been the dominant factor in the team’s push for playoff positioning, with relief pitching also playing a key role. The team’s defense has shown slight improvement, but consistent hitting remains a concern. All this makes for an interesting final month of the regular season.