The odds were in Alex Cora and the Red Sox’ favor on Wednesday night in New York.
In the three years since MLB changed the format of Wild Card series into a best-of-three set-u, the team that won Game 1 had won each of the 12 series — with 10 of those being sweeps.
The Red Sox found themselves in that same driver’s seat at Yankee Stadium, fresh off of a gutsy win over New York in Game 1 less than 24 hours earlier.
And, with fortune seemingly on Cora’s side, Boston’s manager seemingly dictated Game 2 as if it was indeed a winner-take-all matchup against New York.
Much as he did during Friday’s playoff clincher against Detroit — or in numerous instances during Boston’s 2018 title run — Cora pushed multiple buttons and rolled the dice in an effort to put his team in the best possible