The Red Sox had a decision to make in the fifth inning of Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, and it didn’t take long for the choice to look costly.
Payton Tolle had been holding his own against the Yankees, working 4.2 innings and allowing one earned run on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Boston was still within striking distance when manager Chad Tracy went to the bullpen and brought in Erik Miller.
Then Ben Rice made the move hurt immediately.
Rice, who had already doubled into the right-center gap in the first inning and struck out swinging in the third, came up for a third look and turned Miller’s fastball over the middle into a solo homer to center field. The blast pushed New York’s lead to 2-0 in what eventually became a 9-0 Yankees win.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan questioned whether Tracy went to the bullpen too soon.
"Red Sox manager Chad Tracy pulled starter Payton Tolle in the fifth inning. Tracy's desire not to let Yankees slugger Ben Rice -- far and away the most dangerous hitter in their Aaron Judge-free lineup -- see Tolle for a third time was understandable," Passan wrote.
"But this is the postseason. Even more, this is a three-game series.
Teams have to value every out and use only their best. And while Erik Miller -- brought on to replace Tolle -- throws hard and is left-handed, Miller is not one of Boston's best," Passan added.
Boston’s concern was obvious enough: Rice had already squared Tolle up twice, and Tracy may have been trying to avoid giving the Yankees’ DH another favorable look. But the move opened the door for the very damage he was trying to prevent.
The game only got worse from there. Rice later added a grand slam in the eighth, though by then the Yankees had already taken control. Passan summed it up bluntly: "The way Cam Schlittler pitched, two runs was plenty."
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