The Red Sox have already mapped out their Wild Card Series rotation, but the most interesting pitching decision may come after the first wave of starters does its job.
Payton Tolle will take the ball in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, with Sonny Gray lined up for Wednesday and Ranger Suárez positioned for a potential Game 3 if the series goes that far. That leaves rookie left-hander Jake Bennett in a less defined spot - and Friday may have given Boston a reason to keep him close.
Bennett, who made 19 starts for Boston during the regular season, was used out of the bullpen for the first time on Friday. He answered with 3 2/3 scoreless innings in a 4-3 win over the Cubs, giving manager Chad Tracy a different kind of look as the postseason approaches.
The shift from starting to relieving is no small change. Bennett had to get ready without the usual buildup to first pitch, then jump into a live game while Boston was still fighting for postseason positioning. He handled it cleanly.
“Definitely a little bit of an adrenaline rush, but at the end of the day, it’s the same game,” Bennett told MLB.com afterward. He added that the outing could help him if the Red Sox need him in a relief role against New York.
That’s the kind of flexibility that matters in a short series. If a starter gets knocked out early, Bennett could cover innings and keep Boston from burning through the bullpen too quickly. If the game stretches deeper, he could also help preserve other relievers for the next night.
None of that locks him into a playoff roster spot or a specific job. Boston still has decisions to make, and the way each game unfolds will shape what Tracy needs. But Bennett has now shown he can step out of the rotation, take the ball in a tight game, and keep the other side off the board.
The focus Tuesday starts with Tolle and Cam Schlittler. Still, Bennett’s first relief outing served as a useful reminder: in October, the pitcher who matters most may be the one who enters when the original plan falls apart.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Gave Red Sox Fans More Motivation Before The Wild Card
With the Wild Card round looming, the Red Sox are approaching this matchup the way October usually demands, one series at a time. Boston has been laying out its rotation with this specific test in mind, and Chad Tracy has kept the message centered on the immediate challenge rather than peeking ahead to anything beyond it.
Across the diamond, Aaron Boones comments about already weighing pitching strategies for the Divisional round only add a little extra fuel to an already charged playoff meeting. Whether Boone intended it or not, it gives Boston plenty of bulletin-board material heading into a Yankees-Red Sox showdown where the first job is simple: survive the opening round and make sure the conversation about later series gets cut short. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Schlittler Just Made Yankees-Red Sox Game 1 Even More Heated
The playoff stage at Yankee Stadium was already going to bring plenty of edge, but Cam Schlittler has helped turn the opener into something even more combustible. The Yankees starter has been trading public jabs with Red Sox fans online, leaning into the noise instead of ducking it, and that has only sharpened the atmosphere around a rivalry that hardly needed extra fuel.
For Boston, the matchup matters because it is not just another October game, it is the first look at a series that now comes with a little more bite. Schlittler is set to be one of the key figures in the spotlight, and his duel with Red Sox starter Payton Tolle adds another layer to a night already heavy with history, tension and the kind of crowd energy that can tilt a series before it really gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Fans Already Have One Wild Card Booth Complaint
Major League Baseball has set the broadcast crew for the Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card round, and the lineup already gives Boston fans something to talk about before a pitch is thrown. The games will air on NBC with Jason Benetti handling play-by-play, Lou Merloni in the Red Sox analyst chair, and Caroline Pineda working as sideline reporter.
What has drawn the sharpest reaction, at least early, is the rest of the booth makeup, which includes former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and former Yankees player Anthony Rizzo on the analyst side for New York. In a postseason series loaded with history and tension, the broadcast itself now has a familiar Yankees tint that Red Sox fans are bound to notice all week long. [Read more 🡒]