At the height of the AL Wild Card hysteria last week, the Yankees reportedly chose to play the Red Sox if the teams finished in a four-way tie, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Yankees’ rationale makes sense — the Blue Jays had a potent offensive lineup, and (more importantly), the Yankees were fresh off a sweep of the Red Sox.
According to Kiké Hernández — who spoke to reporters prior to Tuesday’s Wild Card game — the Red Sox knew about the Yankees’ choice, and Hernández even went as far as to say he understood based on the sweep.