NEW YORK - As Isiah Kiner-Falefa was leaving the visitors' clubhouse Tuesday night, joining the rest of the Red Sox in licking their wounds following a 9-0 loss to the Yankees in Game 1 of the best-of-three Wild Card round at Yankee Stadium, he tried to paint a palatable picture.
"At least we don't have to face Schlittler in Game 3," the veteran infielder said.
Fair, especially considering the utter dominance portrayed by the Yankees ace Cam Schlittler, who shut down the Red Sox for 6 1/3 innings and 117 pitches in the series' opener. The combination of what had just transpired and memories of how helpless it felt in last year's decisive Game 3 with Schlittler on the mound allowed for some understanding of the message.
And, who knows? What if the Red Sox do manage to get to that third game? All they have to do is win Game 2 with their ace (Sonny Gray) on the mound, and next thing you know, the visitors might be heading into the aforementioned Game 3 carrying an upper-hand thanks to the presence of Ranger Suarez.
It still seems somewhat feasible.
Except there is one big potential problem: Accomplishing anything going forward without Roman Anthony muddies the equation quite a bit for Chad Tracy's team.
The player who was supposed to make the Red Sox' offensive engine go at the top of the batting order, Anthony, was pinch-hit for to lead off the sixth inning after getting in just two at-bats against Schlittler. After the loss, the reason for his exit was given: that injured hand, which had kept him out for the majority of the regular season, had been aggravated by a few checked swings.
"He took a check-swing and then another swing and his hand flared on him," said Red Sox manager Chad Tracy. "And it got uncomfortable, so we had to make a move there." Tracy later added regarding the designated hitter's availability for Game 2, "It's hard to say right now. It's one of those things where he obviously was in a lot of discomfort. So we had to remove him. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings."
All the answers from questions about Roman Anthony at Chad Tracy's postgame presser: pic.twitter.com/Pid4p56UMu
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) September 30, 2026
The importance of Anthony can't be overstated.
Most postseason runs have one or two or three alphas near the top of their batting order that both set the tone and represent the roadblock for any opposing pitcher. Case in point: Ben Rice on Tuesday night.
Without Aaron Judge, many were wondering who would be the anchor for the Yankees' attack. That turned out to be Rice, who homered twice and drove in six runs. He also forced Tracy to make one of the key decisions of the game when he took out starter Payton Tolle after 83 pitches for fear of Rice doing damage in his third look at the lefty. The result was a solo homer against reliever Erik Miller, giving New York what seemed like an insurmountable 2-0 lead after five innings.
That was supposed to be what Anthony represented.
While the Red Sox were obviously able to go on their historic run earlier this season without Anthony, the other pieces in the Sox's offensive puzzle were dramatically different. Willson Contreras certainly didn't seem like the power presence he had been for much of the season in his first game back from a bruised right hand, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. And the lineup as a whole appeared punchless, getting just one player (Trevor Story) into scoring position all night.
There are also fewer solutions.
Mickey Gasper revealed before the game he has a torn biceps and will be undergoing surgery Friday. Romy Gonzalez's elbow is still giving him issues, potentially putting a damper on his availability. And Masa Yoshida's hamstring hasn't allowed him to enter any sort of conversation when it comes to participation in the Wild Card round.
Even with Gray and Suarez looming, the Red Sox find themselves in an uneasy situation with one enormously uncomfortable question mark thanks to Anthony.
"It's a challenge," Tracy said. "That's the, I guess, holistically, the challenge of a three-game series. That's why Tolle was out there. That's why Schlittler was out there trying really hard to get Game 1. You don't. Now you have to win two in a row, so you've got to be aggressive and try to win as many moments as you can because we've got to win two games in a row now to keep the season alive."
