BOSTON — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton connected on Ryan Brasier’s 95.2 mph four-seam fastball and crushed it 114.9 mph off the top of the Green Monster in the sixth inning.
Aaron Judge tried to score from first base to cut the Yankees’ deficit to one run. He instead got cut down at the plate.
A perfectly executed relay play from center fielder Kiké Hernández to shortstop Xander Bogaerts to catcher Kevin Plawecki kept Boston ahead 3-1.
The Red Sox won 6-2 over the Yankees here in the American League Wild Card Game. They advanced to the American League Division Series to play the Rays. Game 1 is Thursday in St. Petersburg.
“That was better than a homer for me personally,” Bogaerts said. “If that run scores, it’s 3-2. Stanton is at second base, the whole momentum is on their side. The dugout is getting pumped up. As Judge was out at home, I saw Stanton was pretty mad. He probably wanted a homer there but also an RBI, and he didn’t get that. And he probably felt like he didn’t do much because that run didn’t score. But that changed the game.
“I feel like that was one of the biggest moments in the game regardless of all the homers and all the walks,” Bogaerts added. “That changed momentum big time.”
Bogaerts fired a strike home to the third base side of the plate.
“Talk about big plays by a big player tonight in Xander, too,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Big homer, and Kiké with the great relay to him. ... If I could label a play of the game, that would be play of the game for me, where Xander (throws out Judge) at the plate and keeps it a 3-1 game instead of a 3-2 game.”
Boston went ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning right after the relay.
“We played defense,” manager Alex Cora said. “When we play defense, we’re good. That kid in center field, his instincts are amazing. Dugie (Alex Verdugo) went for the ball, played it off the wall. He misses it. But Kiké was right there. And he made a great throw to Xander. And Xander made a great throw to Plaw, and it was a great tag.
“We want to be a good defensive team,” Cora added. “We haven’t done that throughout the season. We had our hot stretches, quote-unquote, but that was a great play.”
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