Fried, Bellinger lead Yankees in sweep of Red Sox

Max Fried on Wednesday night dominated the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs for the second consecutive year, and Cody Bellinger and Luis Garcia Jr homered, as the Yankees rolled to a 9-2 win to complete a two-game sweep.

“We enjoyed tonight. We got a lot more work to do,” Bellinger said.

New York next face American League East champions the Tampa Bay Ray in their division series starting tomorrow.

A fan catches a three-run home run hit by the New York Yankees’ Cody Bellinger during the sixth inning of Game 2 of their American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox in New York on Wednesday.

Photo: AP

“The fans were electric from the first pitch and the boys were hungry. We got a young, hungry team here,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said as teammates sprayed him with bubbly during the clubhouse celebration. “This makes me feel young every single time.”

Judge missed the series because of a calf injury and is not sure whether he will play against the Rays, who beat New York 7-6 in the season series.

“Saturday’s a long ways away,” he said.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead after Willson Contreras homered to end Boston’s 26-inning post-season scoreless streak, the Yankees broke open the game with a six-run sixth after Spencer Jones reached on a wild pitch while striking out leading off — with the help of a video review.

Garcia, acquired at the trade deadline, had three hits in his first post-season start, and Bellinger had four RBIs that included a three-run homer capping the sixth-inning burst that put New York ahead 8-1.

“Step one,” said Bellinger, who caught the ceremonial first pitch from his dad, Clay Bellinger, a 2000 Yankees World Series champion. “Now we got to go into Tampa and play against a tough team.”

In California, pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets blasted a two-run homer and five Padres pitchers combined on a five-hitter, as San Diego swept the Chicago Cubs out of the National League Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory in Game 2.

Xander Bogaerts drove in the first run for the surging Padres, who followed up their 8-0 victory in Tuesday’s opener with another dominant mound performance. The Cubs led the majors in runs and the National League in homers this year, but they managed just eight hits — seven singles — over 18 innings against San Diego’s inspired staff.

Ethan Salas drove in a run while becoming the youngest player to catch a post-season game in major league history for the Padres, whose 20-3 surge since Sept. 5 has them looking like a threat in the National League.

With their fifth playoff series victory in the past seven years, the Padres advanced to face the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers in their division series.

“It’s our entire group coming together, finding ways to win ballgames over and over,” Fernando Tatis Jr said between puffs on a cigar in the Padres’ beer-soaked clubhouse. “This feels great, but we’ve already been to this part before, and we’re all so hungry to go farther.”

In Texas, the Chicago White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros to sweep their American League Wild Card Series.

It is the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, Bryce Harper’s misplay in right field put Philadelphia in a hole. His homer an inning later put the Phillies in position for a comeback win that extended their post-season.

Alec Bohm put Philadelphia ahead with a two-out homer in the 10th inning, and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 to force a decisive third game in their National League Wild Card Series.

The Phillies rallied with back-to-back homers from Kyle Schwarber and Harper in the eighth after trailing 3-1 in the seventh. Harper’s homer made up for a crucial fielding mistake an inning earlier.

“I wasn’t not trying to hit a homer, I can tell you that,” Harper said with a smile.