Red Sox-Yankees rivalry gets new chapter

Baseball’s biggest rivalry enters uncharted territory tonight as the Boston Red Sox host the New York Yankees for the first time in a one-and-done American League wild-card game.

Boston (92-70) finished atop the wild-card standings after Rafael Devers’ tie-breaking tworun homer in the ninth inning Sunday sealed a 7-5 comeback win at Washington in the final game of the regular season.

The Yankees (92-70) clinched the second wild-card spot in their finale against Tampa Bay with a 1-0 win on Aaron Judge’s walk-off infield single.

Despite finishing with the same record, Boston will host the one-game playoff as a result of winning the regular-season series 10-9. The Yankees have won nine of the past 12 games between the teams after the Red Sox won the first seven.

The winner advances to face the AL East-champion Rays in an AL Division Series matchup beginning Thursday.

A pair of All-Star pitchers will face off tonight as New York right-hander Gerrit Cole (16-8, 3.23 ERA) opposes Boston right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA). SEASON COLLAPSE COSTLY TO METS’ ROJAS >> For a while this summer, Luis Rojas was a potential Manager of the Year contender.

Just a few months later, he’s out of a job.

Rojas was let go as New York Mets manager Monday after two losing seasons. The team declined its option on his contract for 2022, making the announcement a day after finishing third in the NL East at 77-85 in Steve Cohen’s first year of ownership.

The move was no surprise, the first of several significant changes coming this offseason for a club in constant turmoil.

“I want to share such heartfelt gratitude to so many in the Mets organization for not only the last two seasons as manager, but for the last 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said in a statement. “We live in a results-oriented business, and am deeply disappointed for our staff and fans that we didn’t reach our goals this season.”

Rojas has been offered the opportunity to remain in the organization in a role still to be determined.

“(Rojas) has shown a great commitment to the Mets over many years in multiple capacities,” team President Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, but we feel a change is needed at this time.”

Expected to challenge for the playoffs or even a pennant with $341 million newcomer Francisco Lindor at shortstop, New York led its division for 90 straight days despite a wave of injuries — and Rojas drew praise for his steady hand and communication skills.

But then everything fell apart over the final two months.

With ace pitcher Jacob deGrom sidelined since the AllStar break by a sprained elbow, New York went into a nosedive once August arrived. The lineup languished even when healthy, and an overtaxed pitching staff started to crack.

A 2-11 stretch against the Dodgers and Giants, baseball’s top two teams, dropped the Mets from five games over .500 and tied for first place to 62-66 and 6½ games out on Aug. 26.

The Mets were eliminated from postseason contention on Sept. 25. They limped to the finish line of their fourth losing season in five years.

New York went 26-34 during Rojas’ first year at the helm, finishing tied for last in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. BATTING AVERAGES TAKE A DIP >> The major league batting average dropped to .244 this season, its lowest since the year of the pitcher in 1968 (.237), though offense picked up markedly following baseball’s midseason crackdown on grip-enhancing substances for pitchers.

MLB’s stricter enforcement had the desired impact, ending a run of 12 consecutive full seasons in which strikeouts had set records annually.

From opening day through June 2, the last day before the crackdown, batters hit .236 with a .395 slugging percentage, a .707 OPS and an average of 4.36 runs per team each game. From June 3 through the end of the regular season, the average rose to .248 with a .419 slugging percentage, a .738 OPS and an average of 4.62 runs.

There were a record 2,664 more strikeouts than hits, the gap increasing from 1,147 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and 784 in 2019, when strikeouts topped hits for the first time.

While there were 42,145 strikeouts, a slight decrease from 42,823 in 2019, hits declined from 42,039 to 39,481 as computer-aided defensive shifts proliferated. The big league batting average was .271 in 1999 at the height of the Steroids Era, when there were 45,327 hits. MLB DRAWS 45.3 MILLION >> Major League Baseball drew 45.3 million fans this year as fans gradually were allowed to return, down from 68.5 million over 2019 in the last season before the coronavirus pandemic.

The Los Angeles Dodgers led the major leagues in home attendance at 2.8 million. They did not start selling full capacity until mid-June.

This year’s MLB season averaged 18,901 for 2,397 dates, the commissioner’s office said.

Atlanta was second at 2.3 million, followed by San Diego at 2.2 million, Texas and St. Louis at 2.1 million and Houston at 2.07 million.

Miami was 30th and last at 640,000, the A’s 29th at 700,000.

Only Texas began the 2021 season at 100% capacity.