09/30/26 10:47:00
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09/30 22:45 CDT Red Sox handed another quick playoff exit by rival Yankees
after 2 quick hooks by Tracy backfire
Red Sox handed another quick playoff exit by rival Yankees after 2 quick hooks
by Tracy backfire
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- With the Boston bats ice cold at Yankee Stadium again, a
couple of quick hooks by Red Sox rookie manager Chad Tracy led to an early
postseason exit.
Same story, different year. And this time, it wasn't even close.
For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox were sent home for the winter by
their biggest rivals when the New York Yankees rolled to a 9-2 victory
Wednesday night and a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.
The Red Sox were outscored 18-2 overall and left to lament a miserable finish
to this roller-coaster ride of a season.
Facing a New York lineup missing injured slugger Aaron Judge, the Red Sox gave
up 26 hits despite a pair of effective performances from their starting
pitchers.
At the plate, Boston mustered only seven hits and finally snapped a 26-inning
postseason scoring drought that dated to last year when Willson Contreras
homered just over the right-center fence in the sixth Wednesday.
Needing a victory to extend their season, the Red Sox sent 18-game winner Sonny
Gray to the mound and he certainly gave them a chance. Boston trailed 1-0 in
the fifth when the right-hander allowed a two-out single to Ben Rice that put
runners at the corners.
Tracy then yanked Gray after only 70 pitches, eager to hand the ball to
baseball's best bullpen during the regular season.
The 41-year-old Tracy, the youngest manager in these playoffs, made a similar
move in the series opener when he pulled rookie starter Payton Tolle after 4
2/3 innings and 83 pitches in a 1-0 game.
Both decisions backfired.
On Tuesday, Rice greeted left-handed reliever Erik Miller with a 423-foot solo
homer to straightaway center field, and the Yankees cruised to a 9-0 victory.
This time, Tracy summoned Miller to face a different left-handed batter, Cody
Bellinger --- who batted .274 against lefties this season and .259 versus
right-handers. In fact, his .310 batting average against left-handers over the
past two years was the best of any left-handed hitter in the majors.
Bellinger made Tracy and the Red Sox pay, lining an RBI single to right field.
Back from a shoulder injury, ace starter Garrett Crochet entered in the sixth
for his first outing since April 25 and first relief appearance since 2023 with
the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander opened with a strikeout, but Spencer
Jones reached safely on a wild pitch, and Crochet never got an out.
Bellinger's three-run homer off right-hander Garrett Whitlock capped a six-run
inning that made it 8-1, and the Red Sox were finished.
Their downfall in the Bronx was a crushing end in a wild 2026 season for the
Red Sox, who stumbled to 32-46 start and went on a magical 15-game winning
streak in July to climb back into contention.
___
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