The New York Yankees had everything set up for a perfect start to their postseason run. Their marquee offseason free agent acquisition, Max Fried, was brilliant in Tuesday night’s Wild Card Series opener against the Boston Red Sox, firing 6.1 scoreless innings that gave the Yankees a real shot at stealing momentum. For six innings, it looked like the Yankees were on their way to a statement win.

Then, as has been the story far too often this season, the bullpen door swung open—and so did the floodgates.

Luke Weaver, the first reliever out of the gate, quickly unraveled. David Bednar later added to the damage, and what should have been a hard-earned Yankees victory crumbled into a 3-1 defeat. Instead of celebrating Fried’s brilliance, New York now stares at elimination on Wednesday night.

See Full Page