The Red Sox faced a setback in their postseason aspirations with a 5-2 loss to the Yankees on Sunday. Despite a thrilling victory against their rivals the day before, Boston was unable to maintain momentum and ended up losing three out of four games in the series at Yankee Stadium.
Currently, the Red Sox (75-75) are hanging by a thread in their playoff chase, trailing the Twins by 4 1/2 games for the third American League Wild Card spot with only 12 games left. The Tigers and Mariners also remain ahead of Boston.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged the tough situation, stating, “We’re 4 1/2 games back and Detroit [and Minnesota] won, and it’s getting tougher and tougher.”
While Minnesota’s recent struggles have kept Boston within reach, the Red Sox have been unable to string together wins down the stretch. Their three-game winning streak from August 4-6 is their longest since the All-Star break.
Cora highlighted various areas where his team has struggled throughout this season. He mentioned offensive woes, rotation issues, bullpen struggles, and defensive lapses as contributing factors to their inconsistent performance.
In Sunday’s game against New York, defensive miscues once again plagued Boston. A misplayed line drive by first baseman Connor Wong allowed an early run for the Yankees. Later on, an error on what should have been an inning-ending double play cost them another run.
Offensively, despite knocking out Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in Saturday’s victory, Boston failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position on Sunday. They went 0-for-9 in those situations while leaving eight runners stranded.
Cora emphasized that playing tough games isn’t enough; they need wins to stay alive in this competitive league.
Pitcher Kutter Crawford had a challenging outing for Boston as he struggled against New York’s lineup. Gleyber Torres hit a home run that would only clear fences at Yankee Stadium or Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Aaron Judge added another two-run homer that extended his impressive season total to 53 home runs.
Tyler O’Neill provided some hope for the Red Sox with a two-run homer of his own but clutch hits were hard to come by for the rest of the game.
Despite acknowledging that they are still playing good baseball O’Neill recognized that things aren’t coming together at this crucial time for his team.
With each passing game presenting fewer opportunities to make up ground in playoff contention,
the chances of securing a postseason spot are dwindling for Boston.
