Judge misses the series
The New York Yankees opened their American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox without captain Aaron Judge. He was left off the 26-man roster as he recovers from a right calf strain described as grade two. Judge said the team was doing everything it could to speed up his recovery and noted that the same injury in May would have carried a different timeline.
Manager Aaron Boone had earlier left the door open, and Judge had been aiming to play. The final call went the other way. The best-of-three series is a rematch of last season and began at Yankee Stadium.
Who is in
Giancarlo Stanton was included after being out since 24 April with strained calf muscles in both legs. Centre fielder Trent Grisham also made the roster. Their presence gives Boone more power and defensive options, though neither replaces Judge's production at the plate.
The pitching matchups favour a low-scoring series, with both clubs leaning on deep bullpens and short outings from starters. That puts pressure on middle relievers and makes the first two innings of each game matter more than usual.
The rest of the bracket
In the other American League series, the Houston Astros are favoured over the Chicago White Sox, a matchup built on Houston's deeper rotation. In the National League, the Atlanta Braves are slight favourites against the Philadelphia Phillies, a pairing that most analysts expect to go the full three games.
The Wild Card round is followed by the Division Series, with the World Series set for late October. The postseason also brought two farewells. Justin Verlander's career ended with a warm exchange with his daughter, and Max Scherzer received an ovation from the crowd after initially refusing to leave the mound. Both were part of a generation of pitchers whose careers stretched across two decades of playoff baseball.