The New York Yankees somehow found a way to shut down the Oakland Athletics' bats on the road, while also getting their bats going on Wednesday night. That works out perfectly for them in a one-game playoff, as they advanced to the ALDS with a 7-2 win at Yankee Stadium in the American League Wild Card Game. Aaron Judge wasted no time getting things rolling with a first-inning home run, while Giancarlo Stanton added a solo shot in the eighth, as New York never trailed on this night.
The Yankees won their second straight Wild Card Game behind the arm of Luis Severino, who threw no-hit baseball in to the fifth inning, before Dellin Betances took over with two outs in that inning. New York's bullpen shut things down the rest of the way, giving them seven consecutive home playoff victories. Severino has to escape one jam when he loaded the bases in the fourth, but overall, he overcame a rough outing in last year's one-game playoff against the Minnesota Twins. He fell behind 3-0 after just 10 pitches in that game before his team rallied for an 8-4 win.
Judge's first-inning long ball helped him join Reggie Jackson as the only Yankees in franchise history to hit four home runs in their first seven career Postseason games. Luke Voit added a big two-run triple later on, as he fell just short of a home run of his own.
The loss for the Athletics makes it eight straight winner-take-all losses, dating back to their win over the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. They have also lost all four of their playoff matchups against the Yankees, despite the major league leader in home runs, Khris Davis, going deep the opposite way in the eighth.
The Yankees now move on to battle their old rival, the Boston Red Sox, in their first playoff showdown since the 2004 ALCS, which was highlighted by Yankees manager Aaron Boone's walk-off home run. This will be a matchup of 100-win teams, as New York was the first team since the 2001 Athletics to win 100 games and not finish in first place. They went 10-9 against Boston this season, as the series will begin at Fenway Park on Friday night.
The Yankees won their second straight Wild Card Game behind the arm of Luis Severino, who threw no-hit baseball in to the fifth inning, before Dellin Betances took over with two outs in that inning. New York's bullpen shut things down the rest of the way, giving them seven consecutive home playoff victories. Severino has to escape one jam when he loaded the bases in the fourth, but overall, he overcame a rough outing in last year's one-game playoff against the Minnesota Twins. He fell behind 3-0 after just 10 pitches in that game before his team rallied for an 8-4 win.
Judge's first-inning long ball helped him join Reggie Jackson as the only Yankees in franchise history to hit four home runs in their first seven career Postseason games. Luke Voit added a big two-run triple later on, as he fell just short of a home run of his own.
The loss for the Athletics makes it eight straight winner-take-all losses, dating back to their win over the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. They have also lost all four of their playoff matchups against the Yankees, despite the major league leader in home runs, Khris Davis, going deep the opposite way in the eighth.
The Yankees now move on to battle their old rival, the Boston Red Sox, in their first playoff showdown since the 2004 ALCS, which was highlighted by Yankees manager Aaron Boone's walk-off home run. This will be a matchup of 100-win teams, as New York was the first team since the 2001 Athletics to win 100 games and not finish in first place. They went 10-9 against Boston this season, as the series will begin at Fenway Park on Friday night.
