Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against the Boston Red Sox, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as the New York Yankees opened this Wild Card Series rematch with a 9-0 victory. With the Yankees minus star slugger Aaron Judge because of a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and finished with four hits to power the offense. No. 9 batter Austin Wells drove in two runs for New York, and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits in his postseason debut. Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston’s backyard in baseball’s amateur draft.
Colson Montgomery hit a solo homer and Sam Antonacci drove in two runs to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros 6-3 in Game 1 of an AL Wild Card Series. The White Sox, in the postseason for the first time since 2021, made a remarkable turnaround this year to become the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. They had lost 100 games three straight seasons, including 121 defeats in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1899.
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