For A Second Straight Season The Red Sox Limped Out Of The Playoffs With a Lifeless Sweep At The Hands Of The Yankees

Elsa. Getty Images.

Lifeless. 

There are a half-dozen pathetic stats and moments I could lead this blog with tonight, just a few minutes after the Red Sox 9-2 loss to the Yankees and their exit from the postseason. But this one, to me, sums up 'series' best: 

The Red Sox went 0-14 with runners on base over their two-game sweep in New York. Like, that's not even many chances. But the 0-14 is the perfect bow on the whitewashing in the Bronx. 

18-2 Yankees over two games. For the second straight playoff, the Yankees send the Sox packing. 

Elsa. Getty Images.

And for a second straight night, a Sox starter was good. Sonny Gray pitched into the 5th inning, allowing just one run. And for a second straight night, Chad Tracy brought in Erik Miller to give up a big hit. The single drove in a run (Charged to Gray) and made it 2-0 Yankees. 

Willson Contreras had the only big hit of the series, blasting a solo home run in the 6th to make it 2-1. New game! 

But in the bottom of the inning, Adley Rutschman butchered a strike three from Garrett Crochet (remember him?), and Spencer Jones made it to first with no outs, rather than walking back to the dugout with a K. 

SIX RUNS LATER, the inning was over. In fact, the series was over at that point, 8-1 into the 7th. 

Chad Tracy had a terrible few days. Both times he removed a starter, it backfired. His bullpen shuffle was bad. And his team never tried to steal a base, lay down a bunt - NOTHING to get the offense going.

Gray went so far as to take a shot at the manager after the game. 

But more than the manager, this was about a feeble offense that did nothing in their 48 hours in New York. I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt vindicated after saying for months that the Sox pivot to pitching in the offseason was a mistake. Offense wins in the postseason, and that was true once again in this series. 

He didn't play in the series, but IKF summed it up well after the game

Sure, the Roman injury hurt - the Sox had a lot of injuries. But that does not excuse a two-game no-show in the playoffs. 

With the season over, hopefully fans can turn their attention back to an ownership that was quick to trade star Rafael Devers when they decided they hated his contract. Then failed to bring back Alex Bregman. 

The guy they spent $140 million on in the offseason, Ranger Suarez, never pitched in the series. Ownership failed this team as much as anyone. I am already nauseous at the Sam Kennedy post-season press conference spin. 

On a pass/fail system, the 2026 season was a failure. You made it one game fewer than you did a season ago, and were much more embarrassing on the way out. Those extensions for Tracy and Craig Breslow look much worse now than they did a week ago. My worry is that fans will bail on this team rather than get mad about these playoff losses. 

But I'm not ready for a full autopsy of this season or the fan base or the future - that comes later. 

For now, a season that should have been remembered for a miraculous turnaround kind of feels like a big waste of time - a waste of time that was punctuated by two stale losses to your biggest rival that once again showed you're not ready to be a World Series contender.