The Boston Red Sox lost Game 1 of the Wild Card Series to the New York Yankees by a score of 9-0 on Tuesday night. Cam Schlittler dominated on the mound for New York. Ben Rice delivered six RBIs. The offense managed three hits all night.
But the conversation after the game was not only about what the Yankees did. It was about what the Red Sox chose not to do.
Manager Chad Tracy held Garrett Crochet, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman in the bullpen while the game slipped away. The arms he used instead could not hold the deficit. Tracy explained why after the game.
Tracy on the Bullpen Choices
With the Red Sox trailing 1-0 after five innings, Tracy removed Payton Tolle from the game after 83 pitches and handed the ball to Erik Miller. Rice greeted Miller with a solo homer to center that pushed the lead to 2-0.
In the seventh, Tracy went to lefty Alec Gamboa with the score still 2-0. Gamboa could not record an out, allowing all four batters he faced to reach base. The inning spiraled. The deficit grew to 5-0 before it was over.
Through all of it, Crochet, Whitlock, and Chapman stayed in the bullpen.
“I just think we were at a point, the way the game was going along, if we could try to keep the game there but also keep guys short as we moved through it. Obviously, we had fallen behind by four and if we could try to keep guys short, stay in the game, and still have people online for tomorrow, but obviously the game was getting away from us at that point.”
The Risk of the Approach
The Red Sox now face consecutive elimination games. Having Crochet, Whitlock, and Chapman fresh for Games 2 and 3 gives Tracy his full arsenal when every inning matters.
But the execution left a sour taste. The parade of relievers Tracy used after Tolle could not hold the game together. Miller, Weissert, Gamboa, Olds, and Brayan Bello combined to allow eight runs over 4⅓ innings. What had been a competitive 1-0 game through five innings became a 9-0 blowout by the end.
Rice’s grand slam off Bello in the eighth inning sealed it. Tracy said the goal was to limit the workload for each reliever and keep his best options available for Wednesday.
The problem was that the game was not yet out of reach when the bullpen began to unravel. A 2-0 deficit in the seventh inning against a team you have beaten before is not an impossible spot. Using Gamboa in that moment rather than Whitlock or Chapman was the gamble, and it did not pay off.
Final Word for the Red Sox
Sonny Gray starts Game 2 against Max Fried. If Gray can keep the Red Sox in the game through five or six innings, Tracy now has the bullpen depth to match any situation. Crochet, Whitlock, and Chapman are all available for high-leverage work. Bello threw only 15 pitches Tuesday and could contribute as well.
The Red Sox have been here before. They were 32-46 in late June and found a way. Now they need two wins in two nights with their season on the line.
Tracy has his best arms ready. Game 2 awaits.
Red Sox Chad Tracy Explains Bullpen Decision After Loss to Yankees