Why Giancarlo Stanton Personifies Red Sox-Yankees Playoff Implications
September 13, 2025
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The Red Sox and New York Yankees entered Friday night primed for the biggest regular-season series at Fenway Park in four years.
The Red Sox have not made the playoffs since 2021, a run that started with a win over the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game. That one game came after a consequential series at Fenway Park just weeks before.
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 26: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a two run home run during the eighth inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox on September… BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 26: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a two run home run during the eighth inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox on September 26, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Home-field advantage for the wild-card round became the emphasis of that series with Boston and New York battling in the standings. The Yankees took over that weekend with a dominant sweep of the Red Sox. Giancarlo Stanton completely slugged all weekend long to the tune of a .583 batting average with three home runs, including a grand slam, with 10 runs driven in across three games.
Stanton batted fifth for New York Friday night as a marquee series with similar implications began at Fenway.
“The last time, they came here and kicked our ass,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday. “Then, we played well in the Wild Card Game. That [Friday] night, they got to Nate (Eovaldi) and hit like five homers. It wasn’t as cool as it was supposed to be. Being around the city yesterday, everyone is excited. It’s Yankees-Red Sox. It’s Fenway Park against them. We’ll see what happens.”
This series at Fenway matters, just as that one did four years ago. With that said, things can still change in the remaining games. Boston lost the series and momentum to the Yankees that weekend. By season’s end, the Red Sox came back on the season’s final day to clinch the top wild-card spot and home-field advantage for the win-or-go-home contest two days later.
Eovaldi put the previous outing in the past and picked New York apart over 5 1/3 innings. The Red Sox did enough at the plate and Garrett Whitlock, a former product of New York’s minor league system, closed the door to send Boston to the ALDS.
“It was definitely my favorite memory in baseball,” Whitlock, one of the few players remaining from Boston’s 2021 run, told Newsweek on Friday. “It’s one that I’ve cherished ever since. We’re in this situation where we’re making a playoff push. It’s exciting to work our way in and try to get back there again this year.”
The rosters in both dugouts definitely differ from the 2021 installment, though the Red Sox embrace the chance to take advantage of major implications in the standings with 15 games to go.
“Don’t make it too big or don’t make it too low,” Cora added. “It’s still big-league games that we have to win. We have played well against (New York) throughout the season. We expect the same thing this weekend. It hasn’t been this way since 2021. People are excited about the whole weekend.”
The September 2021 series offers a great reminder for this weekend at Fenway Park. Each team can alter each other’s playoff fate, or the teams could set the scene for a total 180 and a different story in October.
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