Yankees set their sights on Red Sox, playoffs after abrupt end to regular season

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Sep 27, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — With the Yankees’ last game of the regular season rained out, the club turned its full attention to the playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees, having failed to win a division title for the second straight year after finishing an injury-ravaged campaign with a 93-68 record, will begin postseason play with a wild-card rematch against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The pinstripers defeated their archrivals in the best-of-three series last October, and they won this year’s regular season series, 7-6.

However, Aaron Boone isn’t underestimating a Boston ballclub that started off slow and fired Alex Cora before going on a historic run and earning the second wild-card spot.

“It’s kind of been in the works here for probably the last month or so,” Boone said of the matchup. “Obviously, it’s a tremendous rivalry and a team that’s had a resurgent season after a really difficult start. I think they’re really good. I’ve felt that way all year.

“I’m also real confident that if we play our game and pitch like we’re capable of, we got a good chance to move on.”

Who will be playing for the Yankees remains somewhat of a mystery, as Boone has noted that there are more roster spots up in the air than there usually is this time of year. The biggest question mark is Aaron Judge, who suffered a moderate calf strain on Sept. 16.

Such injuries typically require 3-6 weeks of rest and recovery, and the part of the calf that Judge injured, his soleus muscle, is crucial to hitting and running. Still, he has repeatedly said that he has been planning as if he’ll play in Game 1. Boone, however, has said that is not something the Yankees are counting on.

“My goal is to come back as soon as I can,” said Judge, who had yet to resume baseball activities as of Sunday morning. “That’s what we’re doing right now. So if [Boone] says I’m not going to be ready, I got no control over that. I got control over what I can do to try to get back as soon as I can. So if you ask me if I’m going to be back, I’m going to tell you, yeah. I’m doing everything I can every single day I show up here to get back and be ready to go.”

Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham and Ryan Weathers are among the other Yankees who have been trying to get ready for the postseason despite being on the injured list.

One thing the Yankees do know is their rotation for the wild-card round.

Cam Schlittler, who sent the Red Sox packing in Game 3 of last year’s wild-ceries, is going to start Game 1. The impending AL Cy Young will be followed by Max Fried and, if necessary, Gerrit Cole.

“Who wouldn’t want to start the first game?” Schlittler, who recorded a 1.95 ERA this year, said after his final regular season start. “I feel like this whole pitching staff kind of deserves it.”

The Red Sox, meanwhile, could throw their own emerging ace, Payton Tolle, in Game 1. He is one of several southpaws on Boston’s pitching staff, which could prove difficult for a Yankees lineup that is loaded with lefties.

If the Yankees can overcome that onslaught of left-handed pitching, another division foe awaits them in the ALDS. That would be the Rays, who won the AL East and earned a postseason bye despite having a luxury tax payroll $228.9 million less than the Yankees’.

But the Yanks can’t afford to look ahead right now with the playoffs about to begin. First things first: taking care of business against Boston.

“We have a number of guys that experienced this exact series last year,” Boone said. “Hopefully, that’s something that serves them well.”

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