The Boston Red Sox left Tuesday night looking like a team that never got comfortable against the New York Yankees and likely 2026 American League Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler. Boston’s offense never found a rhythm, and that was the real problem in Game 1.
Yes, the bullpen gave up eight runs. That matters.
But the bigger story was what the Red Sox did at the plate, or more accurately, what they didn’t do. Boston finished with just three hits and 11 strikeouts, and it managed only one walk.
That kind of night doesn’t give you much chance to win, especially in the postseason.
If the Red Sox are going to pull themselves back into this series, the adjustment has to start with discipline. They were too eager on Tuesday, too willing to chase, and too easy for Schlittler to get out of rhythm. He made them pay for it, piling up a new career-high 24 swing-and-misses.
Wednesday brings another tough assignment with Fried on the mound. He issued only 33 walks across 112 2/3 innings pitched, so Boston isn’t walking into anything soft.
Still, the formula is clear: make him work, extend at-bats, and try to reach the Yankees’ bullpen. New York carried just 10 pitchers on its playoff roster and used only three of them on Tuesday, so the Red Sox need to drag this game deeper and force some decisions.
There was a glimpse of the right approach in the first inning Tuesday. Adley Rutschman worked Schlittler for 10 pitches before lining a single, shortening up and fouling off four straight pitches along the way.
Then came the opposite side of the script from Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu. Contreras went down on three swinging pitches.
Abreu struck out on four pitches, with one swinging strike, one foul ball and then a called strikeout.
For a moment, the Red Sox had something going. Schlittler had already been forced into a long at-bat, and Boston had a chance to build on it. Instead, the inning slipped away.
That’s the mistake Boston can’t repeat on Wednesday. If the Red Sox want back into the series, they need patience, they need traffic, and they need to stop helping Fried and the Yankees.
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