BRONX, NY — With Garrett Crochet out of the game, the Yankees finally saw an opening within the Red Sox's defense.

Down two in the bottom of the ninth, former friend Aroldis Chapman yielded three straight singles to Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger to lead off New York's last licks.

But Chapman, the 37-year-old fireballing southpaw who spent seven years in the Bronx, got the last laugh. He struck out Giancarlo Stanton, got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out to right — too shallow for the slow-footed Goldschmidt to attempt to tag up — and downed Trent Grisham swinging on high heat to preserve a 3-1 victory for the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series.

With it, the Yankees' backs are immediately up against the wall in the best-of-three set, meaning a loss o

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