The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox never ends. The war of words between these two teams goes on even after the last out is made and the champagne bottles are empty. They have been fighting on the field and in the court of public opinion for decades. The Wild Card Series clincher on Thursday night changed the balance of the postseason to 14-13 in New York’s favor. The Yankees had lost eight games in a row to Boston since 2004. The Yankees were the first team since 2022 to lose Game 1 and still move on from the Wild Card round. The aftermath was just as fun as the game itself.

Pedro Martinez, a Red Sox legend, used social media to cheer on his old team before Game 3, which would decide the series. A Hall of Fame pitcher tried to get Boston’s current players excited by making a bold challenge to their long-time rivals. Martinez’s message before the game showed that he was sure of himself because he had beaten the Yankees many times as a player, but his words would soon be used against him.

CC Sabathia, a former Yankees star, didn’t wait long to respond after New York’s 4-0 win. Before the game, Martinez had tweeted: “Let’s beat those Yankees! You know you’ve got this! Show them who’s their daddy!!!” The message was full of confidence, but it didn’t age well. Sabathia shot back with a picture that had “WHO’S YOUR DADDY!!” — a direct reference to one of the most famous moments in the rivalry.

The phrase goes back to 2004, when Martinez famously said that the Yankees were his “daddy” after a poor game at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia’s reply turned Martinez’s pre-game bravado into a reminder of how sad it was to lose in the playoffs, bringing the taunt that backfired full circle.

The Red Sox didn’t do what Martinez told them to do at all. Cam Schlittler, a 24-year-old rookie from Massachusetts who grew up rooting for Boston, struck out 12 batters while throwing 100 mph heat. The Red Sox only got five singles and never got a runner to third base. Mistakes on defense sealed Boston’s fate in the fourth inning, which added to their frustration in the playoffs against New York. Since 2022, the Yankees were the first team to lose Game 1 and still make it to the next round. This shows that when these teams meet in October, the Bronx Bombers have the upper hand.

While the social media fights got a lot of attention, the real story was happening on the field, where a rookie from Boston ended his childhood team’s hopes of making the playoffs.

Schlittler shuts down Red Sox in Yankees victory

Pedro Martinez’s misplaced confidence wasn’t the only thing that led to Boston’s collapse. The Boston Red Sox ran into a freight train with pinstripes on it, and that freight train threw fastballs at 100 mph for eight straight innings.

Cam Schlittler gave the best performance of his young career when it mattered most. The rookie right-hander took apart the Boston lineup with surgical precision, striking out 12 batters and giving up only five singles. The kid from Walpole, Massachusetts, who grew up wearing Red Sox gear, just made his childhood team look bad at Yankee Stadium.

Schlittler was in charge the whole time. He threw 75 of 107 pitches for strikes and got ahead of 22 of 29 batters. His fastball reached 100.8 mph, and 11 of his pitches went over 100 mph. Six of those came in the first inning alone, which is more than all of the Yankees’ pitchers have thrown in the postseason since pitch tracking started in 2008.

In the fourth inning, Boston’s defense was really bad. They had already broken the league record for most errors in a season with 116, and this game showed why. After Rosario hit a single past Story, Bellinger’s fly ball fell between three fielders and into no man’s land, ending the scoreless tie.

Things got worse from there. Chisholm loaded the bases, Volpe hit one past a moved Abreu, and Lowe made a mistake on Wells’ grounder, which let in two more runs. In the ninth inning, Bednar slammed the door, ending the Yankees’ revenge.