How Red Sox Whiffed On Golden Opportunity To Send Yankees Packing

The beauty of postseason baseball is that you can dissect almost every little moment throughout a game that could have flipped the outcome.

On Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Boston Red Sox failed to grab the bull by the horns in far too many of those moments. That's why there will be a Game 3 against the New York Yankees on Thursday.

If just one or two more plays went the Red Sox's way, the Yankees would be dead meat. Instead, they're very much alive, and there's frankly no one more to blame than the 18 players who appeared in the game.

Red Sox let one slip away with countless minor slip-ups

It's hard to count all the ways the Red Sox could have grabbed the bull by the horns on Wednesday night. The emotions are still raw, so a couple might be forgotten here. But let's try to keep track of them all.

-Brayan Bello threw an absolute cookie to Ben Rice, who Boston had to know was going to be amped up for his first playoff at-bat after inexcusably riding the pine on Tuesday night. Two-run blast, first pitch.

-The Red Sox hit into three double plays in this game, and although it was a heck of a play by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe, Alex Bregman's inning-ender in the top of the third was particularly ill-timed.

-Jarren Duran not making a fairly pedestrian diving catch (if he even had to dive) on a ball that had 75% initial catch probability, but should have been 100% in his glove when he actually got to it.

75% initial probability on Judge’s ball to Jarren Duran. Jump was -0.8 feet below average.

Not routine, but the play should have been made. Also not an error. https://t.co/IAPrkYFa6p
— The WARmonger (@TheWARmonger_) October 1, 2025

-The top of the seventh. Goodness, the top of the seventh.

-Ceddanne Rafaela not getting the bunt down absolutely killed. A horrific chase rate evidently extends to sacrifice bunt attempts.

-Chisholm's diving play on Masataka Yoshida's ball up the middle was spectacular, and it was even aided by a slight carom off the edge of the pitcher's mound. But when that ball hit the dirt and kicked a few feet away from first baseman Ben Rice, it sure seemed like Nate Eaton could have scored had he not stopped his momentum.

Here's a different angle of Nate Eaton staying put at third base on this ground ball https://t.co/m9teNjWKKH pic.twitter.com/iYJrZTEwMO
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 2, 2025

-Nathaniel Lowe's double play in the top of the eighth was massive. Devin Williams did not look sure of himself early in the outing, and for the third and final time, the Red Sox had a decent-looking rally snuffed out on the spot.

-Garrett Whitlock simply ran out of gas. Alex Cora took a chance by taking Bello out early and going to the bullpen, and he was one more strike to Chisholm away from getting the game to Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. Instead, Whitlock walked Chisholm, let Austin Wells work the count full, and couldn't get his changeup far enough away from the barrel on the 3-2 pitch that sealed the game.

-This is truly a case of hindsight and shouldn't be taken as a criticism of Cora, but the Yankees probably don't score in the eighth if Tolle faces Wells instead of Whitlock.

-And just for kicks, Rafaela made every Red Sox fan's heart briefly leap into their throat with his deep fly ball to end the game (after two more horrific chases early in the count).

That's a pretty comprehensive list. And as the Sox prepare to send Connelly Early to the mound for his fifth career start with their season on the line, it's hard not to briefly look back on how much easier this could have been.

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