Major League Baseball

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox top plays: AL wild card goes to BoSox

Updated Oct. 6, 2021 6:06 p.m. ET

Playoff baseball is here, and it couldn't have commenced with a juicier matchup than the American League's wild-card clash.

The New York Yankees took on their fiercest rivals, the Boston Red Sox, at iconic Fenway Park in a winner-take-all contest for the right to advance to the AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In a game befitting of their rivalry, the Yankees and Red Sox delivered the drama in a 6-2 triumph for Boston.

After leading the AL with 16 wins, Gerrit Cole got the start for the Yankees on Tuesday but was chased after just two innings. Meanwhile, Nathan Eovaldi, who has yet to taste defeat in the postseason (now 6-0 lifetime, 3-0 as a starter), threw 5.1 innings for Boston.

Here are the top plays and moments from the wild-card action!

Missing man

Prior to first pitch, it was confirmed that Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez would not be in the lineup after tweaking his ankle on the final day of the regular season.

For more up-to-date news on all things Red Sox, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

The injury occurred as Martinez was jogging out to play in the outfield and caught his foot on second base. In 148 games played this season, Martinez hit .286 with 28 home runs, 99 RBIs and 42 doubles, tied for most this season.

A pair of legends

The Red Sox picked two icons, both on the field and in the broadcast booth, to be the battery for the ceremonial first pitch.

Jerry Remy, who is battling cancer, threw the pitch to Dennis Eckersley in an indelible moment to start the evening off on the right foot.

A loud single

The first hit of the night appeared destined to leave the park, but the famed Green Monster gobbled up a would-be home run from Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

To stay up to date on all things Yankees, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

Stanton settled for a single and was stranded after Eovaldi got Joey Gallo to strike out swinging to end the inning.

Bo-gone

Xander Bogaerts sent Fenway into a frenzy with a two-run shot to give the hosts a first-inning lead against New York's ace.

With Rafael Devers perched on first and two outs in the inning, Bogaerts jumped on a center-cut changeup and blasted the offering over the wall in center field.

Watch it fly

Kyle Schwarber joined in the long-ball fun, depositing a high fastball from Cole on a 1-2 count into the right-field seats.

The 28-year-old Schwarber put the "hitter" in "designated hitter" for the Red Sox, blasting the ball 435 feet with an exit velocity of 110.3 mph, according to the ESPN broadcast.

Cole chased

After that, Cole allowed a single to Kiké Hernández and walked Devers, prompting Yankees manager Aaron Boone to make a call to the bullpen.

The 31-year-old Cole's evening was forgettable, to say the least, with four hits and three earned runs given up in two innings of work.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Clay Holmes was able to limit the damage, striking out Bogaerts and getting Alex Verdugo to ground into a double play to keep it 3-0 through three innings.

Cruise control

Meanwhile, Eovaldi was spinning a gem against the Yanks, with five shutout innings.

The 31-year-old righty was mixing up everything, including his delivery speed, to keep the Yankees on their heels. Through five, Eovaldi threw just 64 pitches, yielding two hits and striking out seven to keep the score 3-0.

Rizzo to right

Eovaldi's dominance came to an end the third time through the lineup, however. With one out in the sixth, Yankees leadoff man Anthony Rizzo put a charge into a low curveball that stayed just fair of the right-field foul pole.

Aaron Judge then hit an infield single, and out came Red Sox manager Alex Cora to turn to the bullpen, calling in Ryan Brasier in the sixth.

Emotional roller coaster

After smashing a line drive off of Brasier, Stanton was denied at the wall yet again.

Then things really got interesting, as Hernández and Bogaerts executed a perfect relay to thwart Judge's attempt to score from first on the play.

Stanton moved to second on the play at the plate. Then Gallo popped up to end the inning, and the Yankees settled for trimming the deficit to 3-1 after the top of the sixth.

Punch, counterpunch

The Red Sox wasted no time getting that run back, with Alex Verdugo getting in on the scoring in the bottom of the sixth.

The Sox were threatening for more, but Jonathan Loáisiga had other ideas.

Verdugo part deux

After Tanner Houck came in and got the Yankees to go down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, Verdugo got to work to cap a little two-out rally.

Chad Green came in to relieve Loáisiga following back-to-back walks with one out, and Green got Devers to line out for the inning's second out. However, Bogaerts came up big again with a walk to load the bases, and Verdugo connected on a line drive to left-center to tack on two more runs for Boston.

Verdugo got a bit greedy on the basepath and was tagged out at second, ending the inning with the Red Sox sporting a 6-1 advantage.

On to the ALDS

In the top of the eighth, Hansel Robles came in to replace Houck and found similar success, getting three consecutive outs on 11 pitches.

The Red Sox followed suit and went down in order in the bottom of the frame, sending the game to the decisive ninth with the heart of New York's lineup due up.

Cora called on Garrett Whitlock to shut the door, and he coaxed a ground ball out of Judge to lead things off. Stanton finally got the home run he deserved with a shot to right field, making the score 6-2, but Whitlock locked down the final two outs to send Boston to the ALDS.

Cue the "Sweet Caroline" in Beantown!

For more up-to-date news on all things MLB, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!