Crochet pitches Red Sox past Yankees in playoff opener

Garrett Crochet was in Boston's dugout on the day before the playoffs began when manager Alex Cora picked up the phone to the bullpen to contact a member of the front office.

"'Tomorrow you're going to make one call to the bullpen,'" Cora recalled the pitcher telling him.

"I said: 'Maybe two,' the manager responded.

"He's like: 'No, no, no. One. It's going to be straight to Chappy,' Cora said.

Crochet backed up his bravado with his pitches. He threw 117 of them, most in a postseason game in six years, besting Max Fried and the New York Yankees with a throwback performance on the mound.

The left-hander struck out 11 and walked none over 7 2/3 innings while allowing four hits as the Red Sox rallied for a 3-1 victory Tuesday night in an AL Wild Card Series opener. When he was pulled, Cora went directly to All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman. No setup men needed.

"Just being arrogant, to be honest. I didn't actually expect that to be the case," Crochet said.

Anthony Volpe put the Yankees ahead in the second with an opposite-field homer to right on a sinker. Crochet then retired 17 consecutive batters until Volpe's one-out single in the eighth.

By then, Boston had taken a 2-1 lead. As soon as Fried left the game, Ceddanne Rafaela overcome an 0-2 count against reliever Luke Weaver to walk on 11 pitches. Nick Sogard doubled and pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida lined a two-run single.

Crochet saved his hardest pitch for last, a 100.2 mph full-count offering on the inside corner at the knees that froze Austin Wells for a called third strike.

"That's why we call him the beast," Boston shortstop Trevor Story said.

The winer of that series will face the Toronto Bue Jays in the ALDS.

Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal delivered a standout performance in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against Cleveland. Skubal tied a franchise postseason record with 14 strikeouts, leading the Tigers to a 2-1 win Tuesday.

Despite a challenging September, Skubal's determination helped Detroit gain early momentum in the best-of-three series. He allowed just one run on three hits over 7 2/3 innings.

Skubal's fastball averaged 99.1 mph, and he effectively used his slider. His performance was crucial for Detroit, which had struggled against Cleveland in recent matchups.

Seiya Suzuki watched the playoffs on TV after each of his first three years in the majors. He gets to play this time around, and he is determined to make the most of the opportunity. Suzuki hit a crucial home run to help the Chicago Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series.

The usually reserved Suzuki pumped his right arm and yelled in celebration as he made his way to first base after his big swing. Chicago had just one hit before the Japanese slugger opened the fifth with a 424-foot shot into the bleachers in left-centre on a 94.5 mph fastball from Nick Pivetta.

Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez hit two home runs apiece, Blake Snell struck out nine over seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 in their NL Wild Card Series opener.

Tommy Edman also went deep for the Dodgers, who tied a franchise postseason record with five homers and pounded out 15 hits as they opened their bid to become the first back-to-back World Series winners in 25 years.

Ohtani, who had a career-high 55 homers in the regular season, homered leading off the first against Reds ace Hunter Greene and added a two-run shot off Connor Phillips with two outs in the sixth to make it 8-0.