The Red Sox enter Game 2 of the Wild Card Series knowing exactly what the task looks like: shake off a 9-0 loss, play a completely different game, and somehow force a winner-take-all Game 3.
That’s the shape of it after Tuesday’s dud, and Boston doesn’t have much margin for error now. The encouraging part is that this team has already shown this season that a bad stretch doesn’t have to define the next one. Last year’s series also proved that a Game 1 loss doesn’t have to be the end of the road.
The biggest difference, at least on paper, is who won’t be on the mound. Cam Schlittler is out of the picture, and while the Yankees still bring a loaded rotation, the Red Sox have especially struggled against Schlittler. Simply seeing a different arm should help Boston breathe a little easier.
Still, easier doesn’t mean easy. If the Red Sox are going to get back into this series, they need a cleaner, sharper night in every phase.
It starts with the mental reset. Boston has to put Game 1 behind it quickly, because carrying that kind of loss into the next night can sink a team before the first pitch even settles. Yankee Stadium won’t make that any easier, but an early spark could take some of the edge out of the building.
On the mound, Sonny Gray is the first real key. Payton Tolle did his part in Game 1, but there was no realistic way anyone was going to outdo Schlittler.
Gray now has to do what Boston brought him in to do: calm things down, absorb pressure, and give the Red Sox a steady foundation. After what happened to the bullpen Tuesday, Gray needs to get deep enough to hand off at least six solid innings.
The offense also has a chance to strike before the game settles into the Yankees’ rhythm. Max Fried has been shaky in October, with a 5.31 ERA over 76.1 postseason innings, and Boston needs to treat that as an opening.
The usual postseason script is to grind the starter and force the bullpen to cover more ground, but this game may call for something a little bolder. The Red Sox can attack early and try to silence Yankee Stadium instead of waiting around in an elimination game.
Then there’s Aroldis Chapman, who brings another layer to Boston’s late-game choices. Chapman has made it clear over the years that the ninth inning is where he’s most comfortable, but there was frustration that he never got used while the game was slipping away Tuesday.
If that kind of situation comes up again, Boston may not have many relievers it can trust to handle it. And if a critical spot arrives in the seventh, Tracy may need to go to Chapman early and stretch the game right there with the season hanging in the balance.
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Jake Bennett added another layer to that picture on Friday, when the rookie came out of the bullpen and worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings. It was the kind of outing that can quietly change how a staff is used in October, especially with manager Chad Tracy still weighing how to deploy his arms as the series unfolds and the matchups against New York begin to dictate the choices. [Read more 🡒]