Manager Alex Cora came out to relieve Crochet, the men exchanging pats on the jerseys, and summoned closer Chapman with a man on and two outs. Chapman retired Jose Caballero on a fly to right, got an insurance RBI double from Alex Bregman, who was playing in his 100th career playoff game and then worked a scoreless ninth to save it.

We polled more than 20 of The Athletic ’s staff to get their predictions for the first round of the playoffs.

It was a time when the Yankees and Red Sox seemed to be having Kaiju battles every night, epic confrontations that shifted the balance of the entire sport with every pitch.