The Red Sox season comes down to one game after they fell, 4-3, in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series against the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
Brayan Bello had a short leash and was lifted after just 2⅓ innings, forcing the Red Sox to use six relievers, while Jarren Duran made a costly drop in the outfield. Nate Eaton also didn’t try to make it home from third after a throw from Jazz Chisholm bounced off Ben Rice’s glove and got away.
Trevor Story, who hit Boston’s first postseason home run, drove in all three runs in the loss.
The two teams now play a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Thursday night to decide who moves on to the AL Division Series to face the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here’s a roundup of what those around MLB are saying about Boston’s loss.
CBS Sports
“(Alex) Cora emptied the tank. He wanted this one. He went for the jugular, but the Yankees swung back with their season on the line. The emotion was everywhere, heavier in pinstripes. They knew what was at stake. They knew this could be the final unraveling of a season already scarred by inconsistency and sloppy play. They knew Boston had owned them all year.”
ESPN
“Alex Cora’s aggressive decision to pull the plug on Brayan Bello’s start after just 28 pitches in Game 2 led to him using six Red Sox relievers. Garrett Whitlock, Boston’s best reliever not named Aroldis Chapman, threw 48 pitches. Chapman didn’t enter the game but warmed up for the possibility. Left-hander Kyle Harrison, a starter during the regular season, and right-hander Greg Weissert were the only pitchers in Boston’s bullpen not used in the first two games. (Connelly) Early doesn’t need to last seven innings. Harrison, who hasn’t pitched since last Friday, could cover multiple innings. But a quick departure would make the night very difficult for the Red Sox’s bullpen against a potent Yankees lineup.”
Bleacher Report
“Boston used just two pitchers in Game 1, meaning there were 10 perfectly fresh arms ready to be deployed in Game 2.
“Then Cora just decided it was “Whitlock or Bust” for the seventh and eighth innings. He faced 10 batters, allowing each of the last four to reach base. He ended up throwing 47 pitches and took the loss.
“To add insult to injury, Whitlock will probably not be available for Game 3, leaving the Red Sox without their second-most reliable reliever in what figures to be quite the bullpen game.”
MLB.com
“There has been much talk of how the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, as thrilling as these games have been, does not quite have the same juice as it did during the A-Rod/Pedro/Zimmer/Dave Roberts/Aaron Boone heyday of the mid-aughts. But that seems more a generational thing than any sort of Northeast Corridor armistice: These kids just gotta see what this is all about! They’re about to (in Connelly Early and Cam Schlittler).
“Schlittler was born in February 2001; Early was born in April 2002. Schlittler made his MLB debut on July 9; Early made his Sept. 9. They are now set to become only the second pair of rookie pitchers to start a winner-take-all postseason game.”
Sports Illustrated
“The runner at second should remind himself not only that he is running on the pitch but also that he should be prepared to continue running on any ball hit in play—not just get to third base. The third base coach also has the responsibility to remind the runner to think two bases, not just one, with the head start.
“(Nate) Eaton should have been well on his way to home. He wasn’t. He stopped around third to read the play. By the time he located the ball, he thought about restarting but it was too late. The moment was gone. The Red Sox would have no more chances. They failed Bunting 101 and Baserunning 101.”
The Athletic
“The Red Sox now go into Game 3 with a starting pitcher, lefty Connelly Early, who has made only four major-league starts. But that’s not the main reason the Red Sox are one game away from having their season end in the first round.
“Given all the pitching changes Cora made in Game 2, he might have a tired bullpen in the late innings of Game 3. But nor is that the main reason the Red Sox are one game away from having their season end in the first round.
“No, what ails the Red Sox, again, is the same thing that made them sometimes difficult to watch earlier in the season. But it was different then, because, well, it was April … May … June. There was always time to make things right, to find that happy place.”