win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of Friday\u2019s split-doubleheader<\/a> at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox clinched the second of the three American League Wild Cards.<\/p>\nAnd a rematch of last year\u2019s Wild Card series with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium next week.<\/p>\n
In between Games 1 and 2 on Friday, members of the Red Sox vacillated between a take-care-of-business attitude and excitement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody\u2019s excited, but we still got two more games to play, and you got to take care of those,\u201d catcher Adley Rutschman said, before he acknowledged that his first Red Sox-Yankees series in the Bronx last month was unlike any other. \u201cYou can definitely tell there\u2019s just a different level of buzz going on, just like with the atmosphere of the stadium and everything going on. So definitely is like a little bit more elevated. I\u2019m sure that playoffs is going to be even more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge matchup,\u201d rookie left-hander Jake Bennett said, \u201cand for us to go there and be able to take care of business, is going to be awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roman Anthony was the most eager of the three. His dominant rookie season helped the 2025 Red Sox reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021, but a season-ending oblique strain in early September meant he watched the Wild Card round from Fort Myers, Fla. while rehabbing at the Red Sox spring training complex.<\/p>\n
The reverse happened this year; Anthony did not play between May 5 and Aug. 29 due to a hand injury, but his teammates found a way to turn their difficult spring around and save the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, very (excited),\u201d said Anthony, who explained he went \u201cinto Playoff Mode the day I got back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though manager Chad Tracy reiterated his sentiments from Sunday\u2019s clinch celebrations, that the Red Sox \u201cdon\u2019t really care who we play,\u201d he, too, acknowledged the magnitude of the matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been watching Red Sox-Yankees since I was a kid,\u201d the Red Sox manager said. \u201cIt\u2019s Red Sox-Yankees. (It\u2019s) no secret, as far as the rivalry that exists over the years, for a very long time. That\u2019s obvious to everybody. So I know there\u2019s always a little extra.\u201d<\/p>\n
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