After the Red Sox (81-67) were two-hit on Friday night in their series opener with the Yankees (82-65) at Fenway Park, the playoff atmosphere that felt around the city pregame had quickly turned into standings angst with 14 games to go in the regular season.
In the AL Wild Card standings, Boston sits 1.5 games behind New York, placing them in the second wild card position if the season were to end before Saturday afternoon’s game between the two teams. Right behind the Red Sox are the Astros (80-68) and Mariners (80-68), both just a game behind Boston in the standings.
In the AL East, Boston has fallen 4.5 games behind Toronto (85-62) for a chance at the division crown, with the Yankees obviously ahead of them in second place. And with a three-game series against the Blue Jays eight games away, it appears Boston’s slim chances of winning the division for the first time since 2018 are slipping away by the day.
So when manager Alex Cora was asked during his pregame press conference on Saturday about how important it was to settle on a lineup against lefties before October arrives, he decided to flip the conversation.
“I think we should stop talking October,” said Cora. “To be honest with you, there's a lot of stuff going on, and we have to play better. I'm not saying we're in a bad spot, but I think we have to wait to see if October is part of this.”
Cora’s mood had done a full 180 from the day prior, where he was joking about multiple people trying to pick up his tab at Legal Sea Foods in the Seaport because of their excitement for where the team was at.
When your team goes down 0-1 in a must-win three-game series at home against your bitter rival that you’ve dominated all season, that’ll happen.
“I think offensively, we have to be better,” said Cora. “Obviously, no [Wilyer Abreu], no Roman Anthony, it's a different group, it's a different lineup. But [it’s] guys that are able to execute, you know?
“They've been here the whole season, they’ve been part of it. So I think they're capable of putting better at bats and getting the line moving.”
The loss of Anthony to this offense cannot be overstated. And the 4-6 week recovery window for his left oblique strain sounds like it’s holding firm, with Cora saying Saturday that they’re just now starting to incorporate walking on the treadmill into the 21-year-old’s recovery.
That, to me, doesn’t sound like a guy that will be back for a wild card series in early October.
Wilyer Abreu, on the other hand, appears to be getting close to a return, with Cora telling the media Saturday that he anticipates his Gold Glove outfielder to return at some point next week, possibly when the A’s (68-80) are in town. He’s been out since August 17 with a right calf injury.
Getting Abreu back in the lineup will help, but it won’t solve the inconsistencies that have plagued Boston all season long. And with how young the group is, it’s fair to wonder if the mounting pressure for this depleted group is catching up with them.
Cora was pregame if he manages a young group differently down the stretch of the season than he does early on.
“I mean, there’s not much you can do,” said Cora. “Just talk to them and help them out, just the same way we did early in the season. It just happens that, you know, everything gets magnified now, right? Every play, every decision.
“So just talk to them, walk them through it. There was a play the other day with [David Hamilton] at second. It was a tag, and we talked about it yesterday. He was like, ‘What should I have done better?’ I said, ‘Just tag.’
“That's what you gotta do, you know? Stuff like that. And they're good athletes. They're good players. We trust them. So just stay with the process, and hopefully they go out there and they can relax and enjoy the situation and be productive.”
The pressure cranks back up at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, with Brayan Bello (11-6, 3.12 ERA) taking the mound for Boston. The Yankees will throw ace lefty Max Fried (16-5, 3.02 ERA).
…not exactly the arm you want to be facing when your offense needs a pick-me-up.
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