The Red Sox’s run ended in the harshest way possible: two straight losses to the Yankees in the Wild Card series, with Boston getting outscored 18-2 and seeing a season that once felt like it was building toward something special come apart when it mattered most.
Manager Chad Tracy didn’t try to dress it up after the loss. Boston had spent the summer looking like a team that could ride momentum all the way through October, but the postseason slammed the door shut. Tracy had to pull his starting pitcher early in both games, and the Yankees made the most of it, keeping the pressure on and never letting Boston settle in.
The frustration was obvious, and Tracy was direct about what the night meant.
"Regardless of all the special things that happened this summer, and there was quite a few, the goal was to win the World Series. That ended for us tonight," Tracy said after the game.
"It's frustrating. There's a lot of things you could say, but in the moment, right now, the guys only care that we lost. It's going to take some time to get over that."
That’s what made this finish sting so much. The Red Sox had opened the season as one of the worst teams in the league, then flipped the script in July with a 15-game win streak. They also put together a nine-game win streak, had a Cy Young favorite in Sonny Gray, and welcomed Roman Anthony back after months on the IL.
None of it carried over into October.
Anthony exited Game 1 with an injury and was removed from the roster. Garrett Crochet, back after being sidelined since April, gave up four earned runs. On the other side, Cam Schlittler and Max Fried were too much for Boston’s hottest hitters, and the Yankees controlled the series from there.
It also marked the second straight season the Yankees knocked the Red Sox out of the Wild Card round. Now Boston faces a long wait until Spring Training, while New York moves on to meet the Rays in the American League Division Series.
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