From late June through early August, the Boston Red Sox were the best team in MLB. They went from 14 games below .500 to safely in an American League Playoff spot with a 32-5 stretch that saw them rip off a 15-game winning streak, which was a franchise-tying run.
That was good enough to give them some breathing room in the standings, and they ended up with the second AL wild-card spot. In the end, it also got them a matchup with the New York Yankees for the second straight season in the Bronx. For the second straight season, New York bounced their heated rivals, this time in a sweep after winning in three games in 2025.
After Wednesday night’s 9-2 loss that quickly ended the season for the Red Sox, manager Chad Tracy dropped a rather blunt quote at Yankee Stadium.
Boston Red Sox Manager Chad Tracy Drops Blunt Quote After Game 2 Loss To Yankees
In the two games, Boston was outscored 18-2 after losing the opening game 9-0. The last three games at Yankee Stadium this year, the Red Sox were outscored 34-3. They dropped a 16-1 decision on Aug. 30 in the final regular season matchup.
“Regardless of all the special things that happened this summer, and there were quite a few, the goal is to win the World Series, and that ended for us tonight,” said Tracy, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “So it’s frustrating. And there’s a lot of things you can say, but in the moment, right now, I think the guys only care that we lost. And it’s going to take some time to get over that.”
That stretch during the summer is all the Red Sox really have to remember in the 2026 season. The last six weeks of the season were a struggle. The month of September was a struggle. Their offense struggled, and they suffered injuries to Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras. They were clearly not anywhere near healthy against the Yankees.
The trade deadline additions didn’t work out as Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow had hoped. Erik Miller struggled late in the regular season and the playoffs. Adley Rutschman never produced offensively the way they hoped he would.
Left-hander Garrett Crochet pitched in Game 2 for the first time since April. He faced four batters, allowing three hits and four runs. Crochet did strike out Spencer Jones, but he reached first base on a dropped third strike. He would come around and score later in the inning.
Boston Red Sox Face Long Offseason
It’s going to be a long offseason for the Red Sox. Getting bounced by the Yankees for a second straight season is less than ideal. Breslow will have many roster-building questions to answer.
A potential lockout could also throw a wrench into the offseason. Is Sonny Gray going to return, retire, or hit free agency? The health of a lot of players is up in the air as well.
If there is one thing this series told Breslow and Boston, they were not good enough to beat the Yankees in the playoffs without New York having Aaron Judge. That should be the biggest eye-opening takeaway of the series.
Red Sox Manager Chad Tracy Didn’t Mince Words After Being Swept By Yankees