For all the hemming and hawing, tiebreaker scenarios and hypotheticals, the end result of the chaotic American League wild-card race was the simplest outcome: it's the Red Sox and Yankees.
Boston and New York each took care of business on Sunday, each doing so in dramatic fashion. The Red Sox faced a 5-1 deficit after five innings on the road against the Nationals, but rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning and eventually went ahead for good on a two-run home run by Rafael Devers in the ninth inning. The Yankees and Rays were locked in a scoreless tie until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Aaron Judge delivered a walk-off single that scored Tyler Wade.
The longtime rivals will face off on Tuesday in a do-or-die game at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won the season series against the Yankees, winning 10 out of 19 games.
Falling short of the mark are the Blue Jays and Mariners, who needed to win on Sunday and hope for one of Boston or New York to lose. Toronto cruised to a 12-4 win over Baltimore, while the Mariners lost to the Angels, 7-3.
The last time the Yankees and Red Sox squared off in the playoffs was in 2018 in the ALDS, which Boston won in four games en route to a World Series title. This will be New York's fifth appearance in the wild-card game in the last seven seasons, while Boston has never played in the game before.
