Sox' playoff dominance of Yankees reaches historic level after WC win

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Remember when the Curse of the Bambino was a thing?

The Boston Red Sox dispatched the New York Yankees 6-2 in Tuesday's winner-take-all American League Wild Card Game at Fenway Park, advancing to the AL Division Series and sending their archrival home early.

The Red Sox technically were underdogs in the game, but if you've followed their recent playoff history with the Yankees, Tuesday's result wasn't surprising.

Tomase: To understand magic of Fenway on Tuesday, start with Bobby Dalbec

Boston now has won eight of its last nine postseason meetings with New York dating to Game 3 of the 2004 AL Championship series. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it's been literally 100 years since any other team has sustained similar playoff success against the Yankees.

That stat would have been impossible to fathom prior to the 2004 season. The Red Sox' 86-year World Series drought from 1918 to 2003 included several heartbreaking losses to the Yankees, highlighted by Bucky (Bleeping) Dent's three-run home run in the 1978 AL East tie-breaker game and Aaron Boone's walk-off blast in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

But the tide officially turned in 2004, when the Red Sox ripped off four straight wins against Yankees in the ALCS to erase a 3-0 deficit and punch their ticket to the World Series -- which they of course won to put the "Curse of the Bambino" to bed.

The Sox have won two more World Series titles since then and 2018 did so at New York's expense, taking three of four from Yankees in the ALDS en route to the championship.

Boston faces a stiff challenge in the 2021 ALDS against the loaded Tampa Bay Rays. But even if they fall short, there's little doubt that they have the upper hand in one of the greatest rivalries in sports.

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