The AL Wild Card stage hasn’t been too bright for Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts so far, as the shortstop opened Tuesday’s scoring with a first-inning two-run home run off Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (follow live coverage here). Rafael Devers worked a two-out walk ahead of Bogaerts to account for the other run.
Bogaerts smashed the middle-of-the-plate changeup from Cole to dead center, with Statcast giving it a 108 mph exit velocity and 427-foot projected distance. The Fenway Crowd then chanted “Gerritt” to mock the Yankees starter.
The play Bogaerts made energized the crowd and gave the Red Sox a mathematical advantage over their arch rivals. According to Elias Sports, teams are 77-46 all-time in winner-take-all postseason games after scoring first.
Cole has struggled in Fenway Park long before Tuesday’s game, giving up five homers in only 16 innings there this season. He’s been dominant pretty much everywhere else, pitching a 3.23 ERA and the best K/BB ratio in the AL at 5.93.
This game was nearly played at Yankee Stadium. The teams shared identical 92-70 records, but Boston took a 10-9 series advantage to earn hosting duties.
Bogaerts hit 23 home runs and 79 RBIs this season to go along with a .295 batting average and .863 OPS, earning the 29-year-old his third All-Star Appearance.
Should Bogaerts’ home run give the Red Sox a win, they’d advance to a best-of-five AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
