AL Wild Card 2025: Red Sox’s Alex Cora, Alex Bregman Lay Out Game 3 Plan

Game 3 of the 2025 American League Wild Card Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees comes down to a battle of the Alexes (Cora and Bregman) vs. the Aarons (Boone and Judge).

Bregman is no stranger to the postseason. On Tuesday, he became the eighth player in MLB history to play in 100 postseason games, Of course, the bulk of that came with the Houston Astros. And it’s because of that deep playoff experience that the 31-year-old Bregman is calm and collected about Game 3.

“It’s awesome. This is what baseball’s all about. Two great teams competing. Unbelievable atmosphere,” Bregman said after the Red Sox lost Game 2, 4-3.

“Just be aggressive, be yourself, trust yourself. And do the same thing that you’ve been trying to do all year which is prepare, compete and go out there and try to execute,” Bregman added.

The Red Sox will send 23-year-old rookie Connelly Early to the mound for the decisive game. Adding to the pressure of the winner-take-all game is the fact that manager Alex Cora emptied the bullpen in trying to win Game 2, using six relievers.

High-leverage arm Garrett Whitlock threw 47 pitches Wednesday. So what’s Cora’s plan for the bullpen in Game 3?

“We’ll check with Whitlock, right, get a lot of treatment and see where we’re at (today) but the rest, we’re in good shape,” Cora said.

That includes closer Aroldis Chapman, who was seen warming up in the seventh and eighth innings of Game 2.

Regardless of who Cora sends to the mound, Bregman has no concerns about Boston’s pitching staff.

“We have confidence in every single pitcher that takes the mound, so we’ve been saying it for the last month, so next pitch, and keep going,” Bregman said.

“He’s poised throughout, very calm,” Cora said about picking Early as his Game 3 starter. “Obviously it’s going to be loud here. Two rookies. Game 3. Wild Card. Yankees. Red Sox. Imagine that. So it should be a fun night.”