Red Sox eliminate rival Yankees, advance to ALCS
The Boston Red Sox are moving on. Barely.
The Red Sox withstood a furious ninth-inning rally by the New York Yankees to win 4-3 and eliminate their longtime rivals with a four-game ALDS victory.
Boston, which won an MLB-best 108 games during the regular season, will now meet the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, beginning Saturday at Fenway Park.
The Yankees didn't go quietly into the night, though. After being held to just one run for the first eight innings of Game 4 - including a brilliant relief appearance by ace Chris Sale in the eighth - they nearly pulled off a miracle win against All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. Kimbrel didn't seem to have his control Tuesday, loading the bases and then forcing in a run to make it 4-2 when he hit Neil Walker with a pitch.
A Gary Sanchez sacrifice fly that reached the left-field warning track made it a one-run game. But the Red Sox escaped one batter later when Gleyber Torres grounded out to Eduardo Nunez at third base. Nunez's throw nearly pulled first baseman Steve Pearce off the bag, but Pearce kept his toe in place and Torres was out by less than a step. The out call was upheld after a brief video review.
Boston now moves on to meet the Astros in an ALCS matchup featuring the two best regular-season records in baseball. It's also a rematch of last year's ALDS matchup, which the Astros won in four games.
For the Red Sox, it marks their first trip to the League Championship Series since 2013 - when they won their most recent World Series title - and 10th appearance since divisional play began in 1969. The Red Sox are looking to win their 12th American League pennant.
The series will also see Red Sox manager Alex Cora take on his old team. Cora was on the other side of the diamond when these two teams met one year ago as Houston's bench coach, helping the Astros win a ring before joining the Red Sox.
As for the Yankees, their 100-win season that began with incredibly high expectations once again ends in disappointment, and without title No. 28. Aside from Game 2, the Yankees' offense failed to make an impact during the Division Series. Reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton struggled mightily during his first taste of October, as he hit just .222 (4-for-18) with six strikeouts and zero homers over the four games.