Crochet pitches Red Sox past Yankees in playoff opener

Garrett Crochet was in Boston's dugout on the day before the playoffs began when manager Alex Cora picked up the phone to the bullpen to contact a member of the front office.

"'Tomorrow you're going to make one call to the bullpen,'" Cora recalled the pitcher telling him.

"I said: 'Maybe two,' the manager responded.

"He's like: 'No, no, no. One. It's going to be straight to Chappy,' Cora said.

Crochet backed up his bravado with his pitches. He threw 117 of them, most in a postseason game in six years, besting Max Fried and the New York Yankees with a throwback performance on the mound.

The left-hander struck out 11 and walked none over 7 2/3 innings while allowing four hits as the Red Sox rallied for a 3-1 victory Tuesday night in an AL Wild Card Series opener. When he was pulled, Cora went directly to All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman. No setup men needed.

"Just being arrogant, to be honest. I didn't actually expect that to be the case," Crochet said.

Anthony Volpe put the Yankees ahead in the second with an opposite-field homer to right on a sinker. Crochet then retired 17 consecutive batters until Volpe's one-out single in the eighth.

By then, Boston had taken a 2-1 lead. As soon as Fried left the game, Ceddanne Rafaela overcome an 0-2 count against reliever Luke Weaver to walk on 11 pitches. Nick Sogard doubled and pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida lined a two-run single.

Crochet saved his hardest pitch for last, a 100.2 mph full-count offering on the inside corner at the knees that froze Austin Wells for a called third strike.

"That's why we call him the beast," Boston shortstop Trevor Story said.

The winer of that series will face the Toronto Bue Jays in the ALDS.

Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal delivered a standout