The New York Yankees went down 1-0 in their wild card series against the Boston Red Sox, and then won Games 2 and 3 to advance to the ALDS.
Red Sox's ace Garrett Crochet shut down the Yankees in Game 1, but New York's bats were able to do just enough in the second two games to back up some incredible pitching to get themselves to the next round of the playoffs.
Now, the Yankees will face their division foes and the American League No. 1 seeded Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS, and slugger Giancarlo Stanton is feeling rather confident.
Giancarlo Stanton Makes Bold Statement
The AL playoff picture is completely wide open, and you could argue the Yankees, despite being a wild card team, are the favorites to win the AL pennant. At least, that's what Stanton believes.
"It’s ours to lose," Stanton said (h/t USA Today). "We just got to come out and play crisp baseball. That’s what it’s about.
"Anyone can go out in three games. But it’s about showing up when you need to. There’s a lot of good, positive things about these three days."
The @Yankees are diving head-first into the ALDS! pic.twitter.com/dTfRA7wd25
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2025
The Yankees had their backs against the wall of elimination and fought back to win two games and advance. Rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler had a historic pitching performance, and guys other than Aaron Judge stepped up.
When you look at the rest of the AL, it's hard to argue too much with Stanton's statement.
The Blue Jays have played great baseball all year long, but are young and lack some playoff experience, and could be without star shortstop Bo Bichette.
The Mariners have an elite pitching staff once again, and now finally have some offense to back it up. However, their ace, Bryan Woo, may not be available in the ALDS.
Onto the next. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/zxgNE8VorN
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 3, 2025
Then the Tigers. This team was the best team in the AL for a good portion of the season and then fell off a cliff. The Tigers still have one of the best pitchers in baseball in Tarik Skubal, but after that it gets shaky.
The Yankees are battle tested, and have plenty of playoff experience. That all matters when you're playing October. New York made it to the World Series last year and was walloped by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, the Yankees got passed their division rival and are looking for World Series revenge in 2025.