Yankees bullpen falters again in playoff-opening loss to the Red Sox

New York Yankees pitcher Luke Weaver reacts as he walks off the field after giving up two runs to the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning of Game 1 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK (AP) — The bullpen that has been one of the New York Yankees’ biggest weaknesses this season faltered again in their playoff opener and has them on the brink of being eliminated by the rival Boston Red Sox.

After Max Fried worked six scoreless innings in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, manager Aaron Boone let him take the mound in the seventh. But Boone removed Fried after he retired the first batter in favor of Luke Weaver, who walked the first batter he faced and allowed a double and Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single.

David Bednar gave up back-to-back hits in the ninth to give Boston some breathing room, and Boone’s in-game pitching decisions were under the microscope yet again in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss.

There were plenty of pregame decisions questioned, too, with left-handed hitters Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon not in the lineup against Boston starter Garrett Crochet, who got 23 outs before fellow lefty Aroldis Chapman recorded the final four to close it out. Crochet retired 17 consecutive batters after allowing Anthony Volpe’s solo home run.

But after turning to Nestor Cortes in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last year — with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 on Cortes’ first pitch — and making other calls to the bullpen that didn’t work out, Boone put himself in position to be second-guessed again.

Fried cruised through his first postseason start in pinstripes, allowing four hits and walking three batters. He threw 63 of his 102 pitches for strikes and got a standing ovation as he departed.

Post-injury Weaver showed up. The righty had a 1.05 ERA in his first 24 appearances went on the injured list in June with a strained left hamstring and had a 5.31 over his final 40 games.

That’s emblematic of the Yankees’ season, when their bullpen ERA of 4.37 ranked 23rd out of 30 teams.

By Stephen Whyno