Even when it was guaranteed for Boston, Alex Cora managed as if there was no tomorrow for the Red Sox on Wednesday.
But after the Yankees’ Austin Wells go-ahead two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, there will be as the Bombers defeated the Sox 4-3 to stay alive in Game 2.
It was all set up for Boston in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series against the Yankees. After Garrett Crochet twirled an absolute gem in Game 1, Brayan Bello was poised to deliver against the Yanks — whom he had dominated all season.
Or so we thought.
After allowing a two-run homer to Ben Rice in the top of the first, Bello found himself in a bit of trouble again in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and second with one out, Cora trotted out of the dugout to give his right-hander the very early hook.
The manager flipped the script on Yankees’ Aaron Boone by calling on southpaw Justin Wilson in an attempt to go for the kill by unloading his bullpen and deploying his lefties to create constant mismatches throughout the game. And his bullpen managed the game plan to near perfection.
Wilson tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and from that point on, Cora had the Yankees exactly where he wanted them. Justin Slaten allowed one run on an Aaron Judge “single” that skated out of the glove of a diving Jarren Duran in the bottom of the fifth. But the rest of the pen was flawless.
Zack Kelly got Anthony Volpe swinging with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth after Cora went to yet another lefty in Steven Matz, who tossed a scoreless frame.
The Sox had executed everything exactly according to plan before handing the ball off to Garrett Whitlock in the eighth. The right-hander surrendered the big blow in Wells’ double down the line, scoring Jazz Chisholm Jr, from first.
The early hook with Bello was somewhat stunning given his 1.89 ERA against the Yankees in three starts this season and, albeit, it was incredibly risky to tax your bullpen with a rookie starter in Connelly Early — who has four MLB starts under his belt — slated to pitch the potential do-or-die Game 3.
However, if the Sox scored a few more runs, Cora looks like a genius as they’d be preparing to face off against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday in Game 1 of the ALDS. Instead, Cora will have to find a new game plan to keep his season alive with a do-or-die Game 3 against the Yankees on Thursday night.
