Red SoxNews

Red Sox Swept Out of the Wild Card by the Yankees: What Comes Next

A brutal Wild Card exit, a banged-up Roman Anthony, and one cranky ace — Nana sorts through the Red Sox headlines.

By Hub Sports Report ·
Retro 8-bit illustration: a cozy old-time ballpark squeezed into the city (AI-generated illustration)
AI-generated illustration

Well, sweetheart, pull up a chair and let your tea go cold, because this one stings. The Yankees swept the Red Sox right out of the Wild Card Series, outscoring Boston 18-2 across the two games, per ESPN, and now they're off to the ALDS to face the Rays while we're stuck watching from the couch.

It started ugly Tuesday with a 9-0 licking in the opener. Cam Schlittler pitched another one of his gems against us, and Ben Rice turned into the villain of the night, taking Boston deep for a late grand slam and finishing with six RBIs. I'm not mad. I'm just saying, when a fella does that to your team in October, you remember his name.

The bigger worry, though, isn't the Yankees — it's our own outfield. Roman Anthony suffered additional damage to the same hand and wrist that already cost him nearly four months of the season, hurting it again in Tuesday's Game 1, and he was ruled out for the rest of the series, per ESPN. That's not a player you want to see wince.

And then there's Sonny Gray, who per ESPN wasn't shy about being frustrated after getting pulled from Wednesday's loss to the Yankees after only 70 pitches. Now, I keep score in pencil, not analytics, but I'll say this much: when your ace wants the ball, you think twice before taking it away. I'm not saying the manager was wrong. I'm just saying Sonny had something to say about it, and he's not wrong to have a feeling.

There was a sliver of good news tucked into an otherwise rough week — left-hander Garrett Crochet, who hadn't thrown a pitch since April because of shoulder inflammation, was added to the wild-card roster and stood ready out of the bullpen if the Red Sox needed him.

Now the hard part starts. ESPN's already asking what the offseason looks like for a team that just got swept out of the playoffs, and honestly, sweetheart, so am I. Grab a cup, we'll figure it out together.

Sources

More