NEW YORK - The Red Sox came to the Bronx with some confidence that they had written the proper script to make this 2026 season extend into and through October. The reviews are in: Not good.
'Caddyshack 2' kind of not good.
The final scene would be a 9-2 Game 2 loss to the Yankees in the teams' best-of-three Wild Card series at Yankee Stadium, finishing off a two-game series in which the hosts outscored the Red Sox, 18-2. Whatever optimism the Sox entered the postseason with ultimately was replaced by the stark reality that the New Yorkers were in a different class.
Sure, there were the injuries and the ailments. Roman Anthony got two at-bats in before succumbing to his re-injured right hand/wrist. Garrett Crochet could only pitch in one inning, ultimately not recording a single out while facing four batters. And others were affected by the kind of bumps and bruises that likely contributed to their less-than-stellar performance.
But this is a results business, especially this time of year. And business was not good. The fact that this will mark the fifth straight season of not hosting a single postseason game at Fenway Park defined that sentiment. With the understanding that the postseason rules have changed, this stretch of no home playoff games is the longest since 1976-85.
This time the script that the Red Sox had so much hope would get them back to Fenway was supposed to star their vaunted run-prevention group. It was how this team rebuilt itself to actually earn a spot in the postseason. But that plan proved to be a dud.
Part of the problem was that the Red Sox's bullpen utterly failed them, with the dagger this time coming in the form of a six-run sixth inning against Crochet and Garrett Whitlock. There was another problem, however: How the organization's mapping out of each of these games went awry.
Tuesday, it was pulling Payton Tolle after just 82 pitches to bring in Erik Miller, who promptly surrendered a game-turning home run to Ben Rice. Wednesday, with the Yankees carrying a one-run lead (as was the case when Tolle exited), Sonny Gray was pulled for Miller after throwing just 70 pitches. Similar situation. Same result.
With runners on first and third and two outs, Miller came on to face Cody Bellinger, who promptly singled in Austin Wells for another Yankees run. And much like the night before, once the starter left, the floodgates truly opened.
The Red Sox decision not to ride with their starters through the middle innings proved to be part of the problem. But it was far from the only one. The offense, which scored fewer runs than any team in baseball through September, only continued its ineptness, getting their lone scoring for the series from solo home runs by Willson Contreras and Nick Sogard.
The power and offensive punch Craig Breslow had promised last offseason never arrived, and neither did an appearance by the pitcher the Red Sox paid so handsomely to perform in the postseason, Ranger Suarez, who didn't throw a single pitch.
It was a nice comeback story that will certainly be highlighted on the 2026 Wikipedia page. In the end, however, the self-proclaimed goals of the front office were nowhere near achieved. Injuries, underperformance, and a questionable postseason plan all paved the way for a much worse feeling than the one the Red Sox felt when they punctuated their season at Yankee Stadium a year ago.
It's back to the drawing board. Not exactly the final message the 2026 Red Sox were banking on.
