NEW YORK -- In the aftermath of the Yankees' 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of their American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday, a victory that eliminated their rivals from the postseason in the first round for the second straight year, the organization's player development department had a request before the alcohol-fueled celebration got out of hand: a photo of the team's homegrown contributors.
"Just because it's pretty cool how many guys we got up here producing for us," Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice said. "It was super cool."
Those homegrown contributors -- Rice, Cam Schlittler, George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe and Will Warren -- helped deliver a thorough two-game beatdown. Along with a 9-0 win in Game 1, the Yankees outscored the Red Sox 18-2 in the two games at Yankee Stadium. They shut down a Boston offense that limped into the postseason and blitzed a Boston relief corps that had been the backbone for the team's unprecedented midseason turnaround.
Their prize is a date with the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL East champions, in the division series. The clash between the two best teams in the AL begins with Game 1 at Tropicana Field in Florida on Saturday.
"All year, but even going into this series, that was a scary team to us, especially as well as they pitch," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "So for us to have the offensive outbreaks that we had here these last two nights and late, credit to those guys. That was very satisfying to play that well in these two games."
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, two main characters in the postseason for the Yankees over the past decade, did not participate in the thrashing. Judge was not on the roster as he continues to recover from a calf strain. Stanton, who hasn't played in a game since April, was put on the roster to serve as a pinch hitter and didn't get an at-bat. Their absences posed a potential problem for the Yankees, leaving them very left-handed at the plate against a very left-handed Red Sox pitching staff.
But the Yankees thrived against Boston's lefties, going 11-for-22 with a 1.182 OPS in the two games.
"We're resilient," Rice said. "That's what this season's been built upon. We've had some tough moments, some tough stretches, and some hops not go our way, but you've got to stay with it."
The Red Sox, after starting left-hander Payton Tolle in Game 1, gave the ball to former Yankee Sonny Gray -- a right-hander -- in Game 2. The Yankees countered by putting eight left-handed hitters in their starting lineup, the most ever in a postseason game, excluding switch-hitters.
The Yankees scored first on Luis Garcia Jr.'s solo home run in the fourth inning, but Gray was otherwise in control until the fifth inning and kept the Red Sox in the game while the offense struggled against Max Fried. He surrendered a leadoff single to Trent Grisham, recorded two outs and yielded a single to Rice on his 70th pitch. That prompted Red Sox manager Chad Tracy to pull the veteran starter to have left-hander Erik Miller face Cody Bellinger.
It was a near replica of what transpired in the fifth inning in Game 1 when Tracy replaced Tolle after 83 pitches with Miller to face Rice with two outs and Boston trailing 1-0. Rice homered to give New York a two-run lead, opening the door for the Yankees to wallop Boston bullpen's and for criticism of Tracy's decision.
Thursday's move also backfired when Bellinger roped an RBI single to right field to make it 2-0. An inning later, the Red Sox were on the ropes for the second time in 24 hours, barely holding on, but one out away from preventing the game from getting out of hand like Game 1 when Rice stepped to the plate.
The inning began with Garrett Crochet, the 2025 AL Cy Young runner-up, making his first appearance since April 25 after dealing with a shoulder injury for months. He struck out Jones to begin his outing, but the ball got away from catcher Adley Rutschman and Jones beat out his throw to first base after a replay review reversed the initial out call. Jones then stole second base, took third on Rutschman's errant throw and scored on Lombard's single.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a single through the right side before Grisham legged out a well-placed bunt to load the bases and chase Crochet. Tracy summoned right-hander Garrett Whitlock, his second-best reliever, to extinguish the threat. But Wells lifted a sacrifice fly and Ryan McMahon delivered an RBI groundout to extend New York's lead to five.
Rice then stepped to the plate, ready for a tough at-bat with a runner on second and two outs. But Tracy, with first base open, put up the four fingers to signal for an intentional walk.
"I was like, 'OK, I guess, you know, man on second,'" Rice said. "But I'm very surprised that they're willing to face Cody Bellinger up there, a guy who absolutely thrives with runners in scoring position and has done it his whole career. So, interesting decision."
Moments later, Tracy's decision -- the third the rookie manager made in the two-game series that will be scrutinized throughout his clubhouse and New England -- flopped. Bellinger launched the second pitch he saw from Whitlock, an 83 mph changeup over the middle, into the seats in right field for a three-run home run to blow the game open.
"That was a cool moment," said Bellinger, who caught the night's first pitch from his father, Clay, a former Yankee. "I feel like I was able to enjoy that one. Just a home game in Yankee Stadium, it's a really fun atmosphere. It's fun to play. And hopefully we get many, many more this month."
The recipe to play many games this month was on display over the two raucous nights in the Bronx: a stacked starting rotation -- Schlittler and Fried combined to give up one run over 12⅓ innings in the two games -- and a deep lineup capable of toppling the best pitching staffs.
It would only get deeper if Judge, a homegrown three-time MVP who played in only 66 games during the regular season, is cleared to return for the ALDS. Judge on Wednesday said he didn't know if he would be available against the Rays. There's a chance, but the Yankees, with or without him, believe they have a deep October run in them.
"We've been put in some tough situations and prevailed," Judge said. "So, I think we're just going to really lean on those experiences and take it into a tough opponent with Tampa."