"Well, if not, you probably should. In the three years the Red Sox have been absent from the playoffs, the current best-of-three Wild Card format has been played twelve times (4x per year), and so far, the winner of Game 1 has gone on to win every single one of them. Yes, that's 100% of the time! In fact, the early tide in these things has been so strong that ten of those twelve series have turned into 2-0 sweeps."
"So, as Bryan Joiner pointed out earlier today, this is why you go out and get Garrett Crochet. For this game! To get the jump on the opponent in a short series. And of course, this is especially true when that opponent is the Yankees with their super short porch in right field and you need a dominant left handed starter to protect against it. It goes without saying that this is BY FAR the biggest start of Crochet's career to this point."
In the three recent seasons that the Red Sox missed the playoffs, the best-of-three Wild Card format has been played twelve times and the Game 1 winner has advanced every time. Ten of those twelve series ended in 2-0 sweeps. That historical pattern increases the value of securing a dominant starter to open a short series, motivating the use of Garrett Crochet for a high-leverage start. The Yankees present a matchup challenge with a short right-field porch, making a left-handed starter particularly valuable. The Red Sox will deploy a righty-heavy platoon against lefty Max Fried. First pitch is 6:08 pm at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
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