NEW YORK — The Yankees begin their postseason Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, and their path forward depends on rewriting two difficult narratives. Max Fried must finally shake off his October struggles. The Yankees must also find a way to solve Garrett Crochet.
The American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox opens at 6:08 p.m. in a best-of-three format with no room for mistakes. Both left-handed starters bring histories that could define the series.
The burden Yankees’ Fried carries to the mound
Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees last winter, the largest deal ever given to a left-handed pitcher. At 31, he lived up to the New York contract in the regular season, going 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA over 32 starts. He led the majors in wins and ranked eighth in ERA.
But his postseason track record remains a concern for the Yankees. Fried has a 2-5 career playoff record with a 5.10 ERA across 20 appearances. The most glaring stretch came in his last three starts with Atlanta, when he gave up 12 earned runs in 9.1 innings, an 11.57 ERA. Those came against Philadelphia twice and San Diego once.
The poor outings overshadowed his finest postseason moment: six shutout innings against Houston to clinch the 2021 World Series in Game 6.
“Any experience you can use to your advantage,” Fried said Monday after the Yankees worked out at the Stadium. “It’s how you learn from it and go forward. I’ll be leaning on that, but this is its own game. A new season with new circumstances.”
He battled inconsistency mid-summer, posting a 6.80 ERA from July 1 to Aug. 16. But the Yankees ace rebounded, finishing his final seven starts with a 1.55 ERA as New York went 6-1 behind him.
“He’s had an outstanding season,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been a great pitcher in the league now for a while. That being said, he was one of the big free agents out there and to come to New York, that can be a challenging, daunting thing. He’s handled it so well, so seamlessly.”
Yankees’ Max Fried vs. Red Sox (2025 regular season)
| Stat | Value |
| Record | 1-1 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Innings pitched | 12.0 |
| ERA | 3.00 |
| Strikeouts | 11 |
| Walks | 3 |
| Home runs allowed | 1 |
| WHIP | 1.17 |
| Average innings per start | 6.0 |
Tuesday marks his first postseason appearance at Yankee Stadium.
“I’ve never experienced a postseason at Yankee Stadium,” Fried said. “I expect it to be electric.”
The Crochet conundrum continues
While Fried looks to erase his playoff history, the Yankees face their season-long nemesis in Crochet. The Boston ace dominated New York with a 3-0 record and 3.29 ERA in four starts, striking out 39 in 27.1 innings.
On June 13, he nearly threw his first career complete-game shutout against the Yankees, working eight scoreless frames before Aaron Judge homered in the ninth to tie the game.
“He can run it up to 100 miles an hour, work all of his pitches in the zone when he needs to,” Yankees captain Judge said. “He’s a tough matchup. That’s probably why he’s, if not one of the best, the best pitcher in the game right now. Probably going to win the Cy Young. It’s impressive what he’s done so far this year. And look forward to facing him.”
The 26-year-old lefty finished 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts, leading the American League. His 205.1 innings far surpassed his previous career high of 146 set in 2024.
Garrett Crochet vs. Yankees (2025 regular season)
| Stat | Value |
| Record | 3-0 |
| Starts | 4 |
| Innings pitched | 27.1 |
| ERA | 3.29 |
| Strikeouts | 39 |
| Walks | 8 |
| Home runs allowed | 3 |
| WHIP | 1.06 |
| Average innings per start | 6.8 |
However, Crochet has limited postseason history. He threw three scoreless innings in relief for Chicago in 2020 and 2021. Tuesday is his first playoff start.
“I’m just going to try my best to treat it as another start,” Crochet said Monday. “Obviously the implications are a little bit bigger, but for me there’s no need to put any excess pressure on it. There’s already a good lineup on the other side, so that’s enough pressure as it is.”
Boston manager Alex Cora praised Crochet’s ability to control momentum.
“He was a guy that he continued the winning streak,” Cora said, “and he stopped the losing streak.”
Strategic Yankees adjustments for Game 1
Boone adjusted the Yankees lineup to account for Crochet’s dominance against left-handed hitters. Ben Rice, who homered twice in Sunday’s finale against Baltimore, will likely sit, with Paul Goldschmidt at first base.
Goldschmidt crushed lefties in 2025, hitting .336 with a .981 OPS. Still, he is only 2-for-15 lifetime against Crochet with five strikeouts.
“He just executes so well,” Goldschmidt said. “When he makes a mistake, you have to capitalize on it. You have to put that ball in play and not foul it off or not take it because he just doesn’t make that many.”
The Yankees posted a 9-4 regular season record against Boston, including 5-2 at Yankee Stadium, but the Red Sox took two of three in their most recent matchup.
Fried vs. Crochet: 2025 regular season & career postseason
| Stat | Max Fried (2025) | Garrett Crochet (2025) | Fried (career postseason) | Crochet (career postseason) |
| Record | 19-5 | 18-5 | 2-5 | 0-2 |
| ERA | 2.86 | 2.59 | 5.10 | 0.00 |
| Starts | 32 | 32 | 12 | 0 |
| Innings pitched | 195.1 | 205.1 | 67.0 | 3.0 |
| Strikeouts | 189 | 255 | 66 | 6 |
| WHIP | 1.10 | 1.03 | 1.49 | 2.00 |
| Appearances | 32 | 32 | 20 (12 starts) | 4 |
High stakes for both teams
The Yankees ended 94-68, narrowly missing the AL East title, and are chasing redemption after last year’s World Series loss to the Dodgers. They reshaped the roster after Juan Soto’s departure to the Mets, leaning on Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger to fill the gap.
Boston returned to October for the first time since 2021. The Red Sox finished 89-73 even without rookie star Roman Anthony, sidelined by an oblique injury.
The winner advances to meet Toronto in the Division Series. The loser goes home with another October disappointment.
“There’s no guarantee I’m going to have another start,” Yankees ace Fried said. “So from here on out, this could be the last one. We’re going to kind of empty the tank and leave everything that we have out there.”
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