Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series was the last straw for the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry, and no one felt the sting of Boston’s 4-3 loss more than Dave Portnoy. The founder of Barstool Sports watched his team blow chances at Yankee Stadium, where Austin Wells’ two-out RBI single in the eighth inning sealed the win and set up a winner-take-all Game 3. Now everything is on the line as the series goes back to the Bronx.
Portnoy, the most outspoken Yankees critic in baseball, let out his anger right after the loss. “That was so bad… Yankees literally just tried to give us the game and we refused,” he tweeted, which perfectly summed up Boston’s self-inflicted wounds. The long-time Red Sox fan said, “I hate the Yankees so much. You forget how much you hate them till you get in a series like this.”
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The loss hurt more because Boston missed chances throughout the game. In a passionate video breakdown, Portnoy went over the mistakes: “Jarren Duran drops a fly ball, routine fly ball. Shouldn’t be a hit, scores a run.” He criticized Rafael’s failed bunt attempt with runners on base, noting how it “kills all the momentum.” The worst part was when Nate Eaton hesitated on Yoshida’s hit to the infield. “He stops; he would have walked home, and that was the game,” Portnoy said, knowing that that one play changed Boston’s pitching choices in the last few games.
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Portnoy was especially angry with Fernando Cruz, making fun of the reliever’s celebration even though his team lost. “Fernando Cruz celebrating like he did a god—n thing is hilarious,” he tweeted. The comment showed that people were generally unhappy with how Boston played in high-pressure situations, when the Red Sox didn’t take advantage of New York’s mistakes.
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