Yankees turn doordie game into little more than tuneup for Red Sox

N E W YOR K» Aaron Judge got the party started with a tworun homer nine pitches in. Luis Severino let out a primal scream after escaping a basesloaded jam with 100 mph heat. Giancarlo Stanton capped tthe mauling with monstrous drive in his postseason debut.

From the first inning on, there was little doubt. Next stop for the Yankees: Fenway Park and the rival Red Sox.

Going ahead quickly against relieverturnedstarter Liam Hendriks, the Yankees pounded the Oakland Athletics 72 Wednesday night to win their second straight AL wildcard game.

Severino atoned for flopping in his postseason debut last year, and lateseason spark Luke Voit added a tworun triple off Blake Treinen in a fourrun sixth, missing a home run by inches. Stanton added 443foot drive off the Oakland closer in the eighth that landed in left field’s second deck, completing a power show by the team that set a major league record for most home runs in a season.

After one of those boisterous Bronx celebrations that used to be an October staple, the Yankees will take a train to Boston for a bestoffive Division Series starting Friday, a matchup of 100win heavyweights. By the late innings, the sellout crowd was chanting “We want Boston!”

The Red Sox went 109 against the Yankees this year.

For Oakland, it the latest disappointing defeat in what has stretched into decades of disappointment. The A’s have lost eight straight winnertakeall postseason games since beating Willie Mays and the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 1973 World Series.