Article: Led By Impressive 1-2 Punch, Yankees' Rotation Could Prove Difficult for Red Sox

[Nick John]

With the Boston Red Sox set to begin their Wild Card series against the New York Yankees later today, it might be a good idea to look at what are some strengths of the Yankees that could make this a tough series for the Red Sox. The Yankees had another successful regular season, finishing the year with 94 wins and in second place in the AL East while earning the first wild card seed and the right to host the opening series.

The Yankees earned those 94 wins as they were led by a dominant rotation, despite missing Gerrit Cole for the entire season. That group was led by a powerful 1-2 punch of Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, as the two won a combined 37 games for the Yankees and threw 390 2/3 innings. The duo will be tough to face and will likely be the starters for the first two games of the series. In such a short series like a best of three, having two highly dominant starters can be insurmountable for an opponent.

Fried is coming off of a fantastic September that saw him go 5-0 in five starts, tossing 33 1/3 innings in that span along with 35 strikeouts to just nine walks. After struggling in July and August, the Yankees’ ace showed why he was worth the seven-year deal New York signed him to in the offseason. Fried also made three starts against the Red Sox this season, going 1-1 in those three starts and tossing 18 1/3 innings. Boston batters struck out 22 times against him and only managed four runs despite 19 hits and seven walks. The Red Sox will need to put the ball in play more often with runners on base if they hope to get to Fried before he gets into a groove.

Fried also has something that the Red Sox lack: postseason experience. During his time in Atlanta, the left-hander pitched in 20 playoff games, making 12 starts, though he has a mixed track record. In those 20 games, Fried has gone 5-6 with a 5.10 ERA in 67 innings. Should the Red Sox get to him early, they could cause him to self-destruct much like his lone appearance in 2024, where he allowed five runs on eight hits in just two innings.

Rodón has also had a great year as he won 18 games while making the All-Star team for the third time in his career (the first time as a Yankee). Tossing a career high 195 1/3 innings, Rodón struck out 203 batters while finishing the year with a 3.09 ERA as he anchored the rotation as the number two behind Fried. Much like his partner atop the rotation, Rodón finished the year strong, going 3-2 in five September starts with a 2.61 ERA in 31 innings.

Rodón also pitched three times against the Red Sox, though he went 1-2 and pitched much worse than Fried did. In 15 2/3 innings, the left-hander surrendered 11 runs, 10 earned, and walked 10 batters while striking out 12. Rodón also has some postseason experience, as most came last season in the Yankees' run to the World Series. Pitching in four games, Rodon had a mixed experience in October, as he was successful against the Cleveland Guardians but struggled in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Of the two pitchers, it is likely Rodón that the Sox could put into trouble early. Though, should the series go to a third game, the Yankees are not without another strong pitcher. Having missed most of the 2025 season, Luis Gil is sometimes forgotten as the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year winner. However, pitching in just 11 games this season, Gil went 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 57 innings. As he pitched more, he got into a groove, as he went 3-0 over his final seven starts, recording a 2.84 ERA in that span. Across the season, Gil held opposing batters to a .230/.338/.351 stat line, though his strikeout rate dropped from 26.8% in 2024 to just 17.3% this season. Against the Red Sox, Gil was absolutely dominant, starting two games and winning one as he allowed just one earned run in 11 innings. For the optimists out there, one positive takeaway for the Red Sox is the fact he walked nine batters in those appearances.

The Red Sox will have tough competition for certain in the Wild Card Round, but they aren’t unbeatable. If any team can beat the Yankees and their strong pitching, it's Red Sox, as they line up with Garrett Crochet in Game 1 followed by Yankee slayer Brayan Bello in game two. The series could very well be low scoring due to the impressive pitching on both sides, meaning some clutch hitting and lockdown efforts from the bullpen could be the deciding factor in who comes out on top.

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[moonslav59]

We have a one-two punch, as well, and our first 3-4 guys out of the pen look pretty damn good, too!

[Old Red]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

We have a one-two punch, as well, and our first 3-4 guys out of the pen look pretty damn good, too!

Got to get the pitch count up on Fried like last time. This will be a Big spot for Bello, but I think he’ll be on a short lease. Bello hasn’t really been that effective his last 5 starts, and one of those was against the Yankees. Yankees have had trouble in the BP.