One of the greatest rivalries in sports history is being renewed. For more than a century, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been MLB enemies. The sale of Babe Ruth, and subsequent Curse of the Bambino. The Bucky Dent game. The 0-3 comeback. Before another chapter is added to the ri valry, it’s time to revisit the history of Boston and New York’s postseason battles. The Red Sox and Yankees have met in six previous playoff series (or seven, if you could the 1978 American League East tiebreaker game). Both sides have three wins (the Yankees also won in 1978, thanks to Dent), including last year’s AL Wild Card Series in a three-game thriller at Yankee Stadium. In 2026, the teams will once again play in the Bronx for a best-of-three series starting Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The games on Wednesday and Thursday (if necessary) will be played at the same time on NBC and Peacock. Here’s a look back at all the postseason matchups between the Red Sox and Yankees: 1978 American League East tiebreaker game Result: Yankees 5, Red Sox 4 What happened: With the AL East tied after 162 games, there was a one-game decider at Fenway Park with a trip to the ALCS on the line. The Red Sox led 2-0 in the seventh inning before Bucky Dent (still referred to in Boston as “Bucky F—— Dent”) hit a three-run homer to give the Yankees the lead. The Yankees shortstop had just five home runs that season, and only hit 40 in his 12-year MLB career. New York went on to win the World Series with Dent winning series MVP. MLB 2 hours ago How to watch all MLB Wild Card Series games on NBC, NBCSN and Peacock MLB Sep 23 MLB postseason preview: Bracket, matchups, seeding and schedule for 2026 1999 American League Championship Series Result: Yankees win series, 4-1 What happened: The addition of the wild card in 1994 led to the first official Red Sox-Yankees postseason matchup five years later. This one wasn’t close, though, with New York taking down Boston in five games. The Red Sox lost the first two games in the Bronx before Pedro Martinez gave them a Game 3 home win. But the Yankees won the next two games at Fenway 9-2 and 6-1 before going on to win another World Series. 2003 American League Championship Series Result: Yankees win series, 4-3 What happened: In the midst of a Yankees dynasty, the Red Sox slowly became a threat — and 2003 seemed like the year they could finally end their 85-year championship drought. Recent additions Manny Ramirez (2001) and David Ortiz (2003) were worthy challengers for Derek Jeter and Co. This series went back and forth, with Boston winning Games 1, 4 and 6 and New York taking Games 2, 3 and 5. In Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox led 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning before the Yankees finally tagged Martinez for three runs. Tied in the 11th, Aaron Boone, the Yankees’ current manager, hit a walk-off home run to continue the Red Sox’s heartbreak. New York ended up losing the World Series eight days later. 2004 American League Championship Series Result: Red Sox win series, 4-3 What happened: One year later on the same stage, the Red Sox got sweet revenge. The Yankees pulled ahead 3-0 in the series, a deficit that had never been overcome in MLB history. In Game 3, the Yankees demolished the Red Sox 19-8 at Fenway as the Curse seemed poised to continue — until it all changed. Games 4 and 5 both lasted more than five hours, with the Red Sox winning in 12 innings and 14 innings to send the series back to New York (thanks to the heroics of Ortiz, Dave Roberts and Bill Mueller). Curt Schilling pitched seven innings with an infamous bloody sock to force a Game 7, where Boston jumped out to a 6-0 lead in two innings and ultimately won 10-3. The Red Sox broke their 86-year title drought one week later. 2018 American League Division Series Result: Red Sox win series, 3-1 What happened: It took 14 years for another postseason battle, but this one had the same end result as the last one. The Red Sox and Yankees were two of the three best teams in the regular season (108 and 100 wins, respectively) — and the new cast of characters compared to their last meeting added some intrigue. On the field, though, the series didn’t quite live up to the hype. They split the first two games at Fenway before a historic beatdown in Game 3. The Red Sox won 16-1, with Brock Holt hitting for the first ever postseason cycle in the rout. Game 4 was tighter as Boston held on 4-3 to clinch the series. The Red Sox went on to win the title, going 11-3 in a dominant postseason run. 2021 American League Wild Card Game Result: Red Sox 6, Yankees 2 What happened: Another one-game decider at Fenway had Boston fans getting Bucky Dent flashbacks. It all ended well for the Red Sox this time, however. Boston pounced early on New York ace Gerrit Cole, scoring twice in the first inning and again in the third on home runs by Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber. Alex Verdugo added three RBIs later, and the Red Sox cruised to a 6-2 victory to eliminate the Yankees for a third straight playoff meeting. Boston eventually went on to lose in the ALCS to the Houston Astros. 2025 American League Wild Card Series Result: Yankees win series, 2-1 What happened: MLB went to a three-game Wild Card Series in 2022, which set up the first Red Sox-Yankees matchup of this kind in 2025. The second and third-ranked teams in the AL East, both sides had productive seasons. The Red Sox took Game 1 3-1 courtesy of a gem by Garrett Grochet (7.2 innings, 1 run, 11 strikeouts). The Yankees battled back to win Game 2 4-3 as Austin Wells drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Game 3 was all about Yankees rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler, a Massachusetts native, who went eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in his postseason debut. The Yankees won the game 4-0, but they were quickly eliminated in the ALDS by the Toronto Blue Jays. ...read more read less