How the Red Sox can play another game at Fenway Park

"They're packed for 11 days."

When the Red Sox showed up at Fenway Park on Friday, they all understood the deal. There was a strong likelihood that they would play their doubleheader against the Cubs and then board a 10 p.m. flight to Tampa to finish off their regular season at Tropicana Field. Sure enough. After sweeping Chicago, 4-3 and 2-0, Chad Tracy and his team walked out of their home park for the final time in this 2026 regular season.

They knew the deal, as Tracy's quote prior to Game 1 suggested.

Now, in the words of Payton Tolle, the carrot is dangling. That carrot is getting a chance to walk back into Fenway to play the Rays on Oct. 7.

"That's why we packed for 11 days,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy reiterated after the Red Sox's 87th win. “That’s the hope is that you take care of obviously this weekend, and then go take care of the Wild Card Series. That's the goal, and you're hoping to find your way back here.”

Now, after playing Game 162 at Tropicana Field against the Cubs due to unplayable weather conditions in the Northeast, the Red Sox will get their chance to go to work on a return to Fenway. The picturesque sunset was a postcard-like backdrop for Friday's Game 2 and would offer a perfect setting if the lights were officially turned out on all Sox home games. But the better images are the ones from 2021, when moments like Xander Bogaerts' home run against the Yankees had fans pouring celebratory beer on their faces.

All they have to do is win two games at Yankee Stadium. Two.

So, now the question is this: How do they do that?

It wouldn't be fitting if the Red Sox strolled into the Bronx for Monday's workout leading into the best-of-three wild card series against the Yankees without some mystery, uncertainty and adversity. There was already going to be plenty of that even without Friday's happenings. What was the availability of Willson Contreras and Garrett Crochet? Who would start Game 1? Who would make the final few spots on the wild-card round roster? Could they actually reverse a month-long trend and score some runs?

But, thanks to one swing by Mickey Gasper, the list only got longer Friday.

Gasper was removed from Game 1 after experiencing pain in his right biceps during an at-bat, ultimately leading to an MRI that suggested the first baseman/designated hitter/catcher wouldn't be available for action when the postseason rolled around. It wasn't an insignificant development.

There was a very real possibility that Gasper would be either serving the Red Sox's DH or first baseman (depending on Contreras' availability) in whatever game Cam Schlittler, or any other Yankees righty, was on the mound. While Gasper had slumped since early September, going just 4-for-39 since Sept. 5, he did represent something that can be of the utmost importance in the postseason: Somebody who can put the ball in play. (Only Masa Yoshida, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Caleb Durbin and Adley Rutschman have struck out a lower rate than Gasper.)

So, where do the Red Sox pivot from here in order to get those two wins?

The immediate answer is to get the best out of Jahmai Jones, Jarren Duran, Nick Sogard, and now, potentially, Romy Gonzalez.

Jones was likely to start at DH in Max Fried's start, most likely pushing Duran to the bench to start that game. But it's an equation that isn't just as simple as a month ago, with the righty hitter going through similar September struggles as Gasper, going 4-for-29 with 14 strikeouts since Sept. 6.

An alternative to Jones would be Gonzalez, who had a .981 OPS in Triple-A Worcester for the final month. And even if Gonzalez doesn't get the start, there would be considerable value in the opportunity to face reliever Ryan Yarbrough, whom the righty hitter is 5-for-7 against. A wild card might be Nate Eaton, who could be added to the roster if Gasper is placed on the injured list. In a small sample size against Fried, the outfielder is 2-for-3 with two walks in the regular season, and he doubled in his start against the lefty in last season's postseason.

Then there is Sogard, who is 3-for-4 against Fried in the regular season and also managed a hit in two at-bats during the pair's wild card showdown last year. Whether it's at first base or second, the switch-hitter figures to find his way into the starting lineup. Without Contreras, he likely becomes the starting first baseman, moving over to second if the team's home run leader's hand is healthy.

Through it all, perhaps the two most important people in the Red Sox lineup were a pair who helped highlight Friday's sweep: Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu. The Red Sox need power. The Red Sox need top-of-the-order anchors. The Red Sox need these two to be the best versions of themselves. Against the Cubs, they were.

Anthony reached base six times during the doubleheader and has a 1.079 OPS over the past seven games. Abreu came up with the biggest hit of Game 2, a two-run double, and now needs to amp up his home run production, having hit just one homer since Aug. 29.

It goes without saying that the Red Sox will need to maintain their reputation for run prevention, which hasn't let up thanks to the continued optimism supplied by Tolle, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, and the likes of Brayan Bello. After his four innings Friday, Bello has allowed one run over his last four appearances (18 2/3 innings), striking out 23 and walking just three.

It can work. But deciphering the code that will guarantee another game at Fenway is still undeniably a work in progress.

One day - and plane ride - at a time.