The Red Sox would have loved to take care of business against the Angels. Instead, they got a reminder that September can be a tradeoff: win every game now, or protect the roster for the stretch that really matters.
Boston dropped two straight to Los Angeles after opening the series with a loss, and the offense never found a groove. Reid Detmers carved them up on Tuesday, when the Red Sox managed just one hit over six innings and then got little help from the bullpen. Zach Neto was the difference for the Angels across the two wins, piling up six hits, two home runs and five RBI.
Wednesday night brought a different script but the same result. The Red Sox fell behind by six runs early, clawed back to within two, and still couldn’t put together enough hits to finish the job. It wasn’t a clean series for Boston, especially against the worst team in the American League.
Still, the loss didn’t really change the bigger picture. Boston had a 99.8 percent chance to make the playoffs on Wednesday before the finale, and that number stayed the same after the defeat. Shrinking the magic number and pushing closer to the top Wild Card spot would have been nice, but the Red Sox didn’t need to empty the tank to get there.
That’s the context behind interim manager Chad Tracy’s lineup choices. He didn’t put his best group on the field for all three games, and for good reason. Willson Contreras (.274/.384/.516 in 125 games) and Ceddanne Rafaela (.282/.317/.443 over 135 games) are getting needed time on the injured list so they can heal, rest and be ready for October.
That approach matters even more with Texas, Tampa Bay and Cleveland coming up in succession over the final two weeks of the season. Those are the games with real playoff consequences, not the Angels series.
Tracy also sat Adley Rutschman for the final two games. The catcher is working through an elbow injury and got a cortisone shot on Wednesday so he can feel well enough to play his best in the postseason.
Boston didn’t play well enough to beat Los Angeles, and the injuries to the lineup and the rotation showed. But the Red Sox are clearly betting that having their best hitters healthy for the Wild Card matters more than squeezing every possible win out of a series against the Angels. After what happened to their roster by the time they reached the Wild Card last year, that’s a risk they’re willing to take.
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