Cease strikes out seven in no-decision vs. Cards

New York bludgeoned Boston’s pitching staff for a whopping 18 runs on 26 hits over a pair of games without Aaron Judge (calf), completing a sweep at Yankee Stadium and punching their ticket to the AL Division Series, where they’ll face the division-rival Rays. Bellinger delivered an RBI single against reliever Erik Miller in the fourth inning before breaking this one wide open with a three-run blast off Red Sox setup specialist Garrett Whitlock in the sixth inning, giving the Yankees a comfortable 8-1 advantage at the time.

Contreras was one of the few bright spots as Boston’s ongoing offensive struggles carried into a middle innings of a win-or-go-home battle at Yankee Stadium. He managed to get Boston within a single run by taking Yankees starter Max Fried deep on a full-count offering with two outs in the sixth inning. He wound up reaching base safely in all four of his plate appearances as the Red Sox were sent home following back-to-back blowout losses in New York.

García connected on a sweeper at the bottom of the strike zone from Sonny Gray, sending a blast into the right-field seats in the fourth inning to give New York an early advantage. It looked for a while like his round-tripper was going to be one of the few runs for either side in the contest until the Yankees managed to blow the game wide open with a six-run explosion in the sixth inning.

Crochet took the mound in the seventh inning for his first game action since April 25, with the Red Sox facing elimination and trailing by a single run at the time. It didn’t go well. Simply put, he looked like a pitcher who hadn’t faced hitters in five months, as all four batters he faced reached base safely and eventually came around to score. Spencer Jones reached on a wild pitch and wound up on third base after a throwing error before George Lombard Jr. brought him home with an RBI single. Crochet was lifted after allowing back-to-back hits to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham. It’s difficult to put the blame entirely on him, and he deserves plenty of credit for persevering through his rehabilitation to even have a chance to pitch in this spot, but Crochet simply wasn’t sharp enough in a moment when Boston needed him to keep its playoff hopes alive.

It wasn’t an overpowering performance, but Fried kept putting zeroes on the scoreboard, carrying a shutout into the sixth inning before coughing up a solo homer to Willson Contreras with two outs in the frame. The 32-year-old lefty finished with six strikeouts and only issued one walk. He got plenty of support from New York’s as they piled up nine runs on 14 hits in the one-sided affair. He figures to take the ball at some point in the early stages of the AL Division Series against the Rays next week.

Gray kept his former team off the scoreboard until the fourth inning when Luis García Jr. tagged him for a classic Yankee Stadium solo homer into the right-field seats. He was pulled with two outs in the fifth at just 70 pitches with Red Sox manager Chad Tracy turning to Erik Miller to face Cody Bellinger with a pair of runners on-base. The move wound up backfiring for the second consecutive game in the series as Miller immediately surrendered an RBI single to extend New York’s lead. The 36-year-old impending free agent heads to the open market after compiling a 2.72 ERA and 149/46 K/BB ratio across 169 innings during his lone season with the Red Sox.

Hernández figures to elect free agency after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 31-year-old journeyman was cut loose by Atlanta earlier this week after failing to make their playoff roster. He posted a solid 2.25 ERA across 12 innings over five appearances during the regular season. He should be able to latch on somewhere as organizational relief depth this offseason.

Vanasco passed through waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 27-year-old didn’t end up making an appearance for Atlanta after being claimed off waivers from the Tigers in late August.

Meidroth gave Chicago a commanding four-run advantage by taking Astros high-leverage specialist Bryan Abreu deep to left field in the sixth inning. It was the first postseason homer of his career. With the victory, the White Sox swept the best-of-three series to secure their first playoff series win since their 2005 World Series championship run, punching their ticket to face the division-rival Guardians in the AL Division Series this weekend. It’s been a remarkable single-season turnaround for a White Sox club that lost over 100 games in each of the previous three years.

Altuve’s 28th career postseason home run puts him one behind Manny Ramirez for the all-time lead. He had a chance to put Houston ahead in the ensuing frame but wound up flying out to right field with the bases loaded. It’s fair to wonder how much longer Houston will be able to sustain things with its current nucleus, which is comprised largely of remnants from the dynastic run earlier in the decade, including Altuve, alongside newer faces who have yet to lead the club to sustained playoff success. In some ways, being swept by an upstart White Sox team feels like a fitting end for this group with Chicago beginning to chart its own course in a fashion reminiscent of Houston’s own unexpected rise roughly a decade ago.