BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have earned themselves a few days in Florida.
The Bosox have moved into the AL Division Series by thumping the Yankees, 6-2 in the wild-card game. Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber belted early homers and Alex Verdugo drove in three runs to back a sterling performance by Nathan Eovaldi .
Bogaerts set the tone with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, two innings before Schwarber’s solo blast. Verdugo padded Boston’s lead with an RBI double and a two-run single.
Eovaldi allowed a run and four hits while striking out eight over 5 1/3 innings, blanking New York until Anthony Rizzo homered in the sixth.
Gerrit Cole was pulled with two on and no out in the third, charged with three runs and four hits.
Giancarlo Stanton had three of New York’s six hits, including a ninth-inning homer.
Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan will start Game 1 of the Rays’ AL Division Series against the Red Sox on Thursday.
Rookie Shane Baz will take the mound for Game 2 on Friday night. Depending on bullpen use in the opening two games, manager Kevin Cash said Drew Rasmussen is the “highly likely” Game 3 starter.
In other playoff news:
— Astros left-hander Framber Valdez will start Game 2 of the ALDS against the White Sox, following Game 1 starter Lance McCullers Jr. Valdez won a career-high 11 games this season with 125 strikeouts and a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts. Chicago manager Tony La Russa hasn’t named his starting pitchers.
— Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes will start Game 1 of the NL Division Series with the Braves on Friday. Milwaukee also says that right-hander Brandon Woodruff will start Game 2 on Saturday. The Braves are going with right-hander Charlie Morton for the opener and left-hander Max Fried for Game 2.
— Two missing Dodgers pitchers earn nearly as much as the entire Rays’ major league roster heading into the playoffs. The defending champion Dodgers currently have more than three times the payroll of the Rays, the team they beat in last year’s World Series. The Dodgers had a major league-high $260.9 million payroll on Aug. 31.
