The biggest shock from Friday night isn’t the score. It’s the fact that home-field advantage actually means something right now. Interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters straight up that playing at Fenway is crucial, but this weekend they are in New York. He said, “That’s important.”
This comes after the Sox dropped a 1-0 decision to their biggest rivals. The loss leaves them three games behind New York for the top AL Wild Card spot. According to MLB.com, the winner of this season series gets to host the Wild Card Series if records end up tied. The math for the rest of the weekend is simple. To clinch the series victory, the squad must triumph in two of the last three contests.
The Baserunning Blunder That Killed the Rally
You can lose games on the baserunning and that is exactly what happened on Friday night.
Twice Ceddanne Rafaela was caught attempting to advance on the base paths. One was a simple mistake, but the second one was a brutal end to a scoring chance.
With Willson Contreras waiting to hit and runners on base, the Sox looked ready to score. Then Rafaela strayed too far off first base on a routine flyball by Wilyer Abreu. He got doubled off to end the frame before Contreras ever saw a pitch in the fifth inning.
The pain didn’t stop there. With one out in the seventh inning, runners occupying second and third, Contreras came to bat. He hit a 262-foot flyball to left field.
It seemed like a great time to be aggressive. Rafaela tagged from third and took off for home.
Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger fired a 99.7-mph throw home to nail him. The play ended the inning and any hope of a comeback.
Tracy Goes Utilized Bench Players Offensively
Chad Tracy made a bold move in the sixth inning that showed his hand. After Caleb Durbin drew a walk to end Cam Schlittler’s night, Tracy sent up three straight pinch-hitters.
He went with right-handed hitters Jahmai Jones, Eli White, and Andruw Monasterio against lefty Brent Headrick. A walk by Jones followed by an infield single from White resulted in loaded bases.
The Sox had a real shot to take the lead right there. But Monasterio lined to right to end the threat. It was perhaps his most aggressive sequence since he was named interim manager on April 25.
The pitching duel was the other half of this tight game. Lefty Patrick Sandoval held his own against the Yankees ace Cam Schlittler.
Per MLB, Sandoval surrendered only three hits and one run while issuing four walks and recording seven strikeouts for the Red Sox. He worked through a solo homer by Paul Goldschmidt.
The Sox worked Schlittler hard for 5 2/3 innings, giving up five walks and 96 pitches. But they could not push any runs across against him or the bullpen.
Why This Loss Changes Everything for the Season
The playoff race has become incredibly fragile, and this game proves it. The Yankees ace did what aces do, making the Sox hitters look small. Sandoval did his job too, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the baserunning errors.
When you make a mistake like getting doubled off at second, you lose a game. When you get thrown out at the plate on a 99.7-mph throw, you lose a game. The math is stark. They are three games back. They need to win two of three. That is a tall order against a team that just proved it can shut them down.
Tracy knows the stakes. He knows that if they split this series, the home-field advantage they fought for all year might disappear.
But the reality is that the window to control their own destiny is closing fast. The next three games will define the rest of the year.
