In pressure-packed Yankee Stadium, Red Sox manager Alex Cora stood tall and made the right calls
We’ll start with the obvious: While Cora stuck by his ace, trusting Crochet into the eighth inning and letting him throw a career-high 117 pitches, Boone panicked with his — pulling Max Fried with one out in the seventh after 102. Those two decisions were the most impactful of the night, leading directly to a Sox win and a series advantage that the short history of the WCS says is impossible to overcome.
Yankees starter Max Fried (right) gives the ball to Yankees manager Aaron Boone in the seventh inning of Game 1. Three batters later, the Red Sox had taken a 2-1 lead. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
Boone pulled Fried when he held the upper hand in an electric pitching duel, holding a 1-0 lead while surrendering just four hits and striking out six. But after retiring Jarren Duran to start the seventh, Boone had Fried pass the baton to Luke Weaver. Weaver couldn’t get even one out, and the two quick runs he surrendered erased all of Fried’s great work.
By the time Crochet came back in the bottom of the inning, the heavyweight pitching bout was over. Crochet needed only six pitches to retire the Yankee side, part of the 17 straight batters he retired after his only mistake of the night — a solo home run to Anthony Volpe in the second.
Advantage, Crochet.
But advantage Cora, too.
“I didn’t hesitate,” the manager said. “He was throwing 97, 98. The previous inning was a quick one. Gave us a chance to push the envelope.”
Crochet returned again in the eighth to get two more outs, where his final pitch of the night was his fastest, 100.2 m.p.h.
“He did his job,” Cora said.
That he was in such strong position to do that job so well speaks to so much of what makes Cora an effective manager. How his willingness and ability to combine data and analytics (the so-called “Coralytics”) with the gut instinct of a baseball lifer resonates with players — injecting what it seems Boone and the Yankees have lost while they get so wrapped up in numbers: the human element.
The Red Sox’ season-long collaboration from the front office through the medical staff to the manager’s perch in the dugout is what put Crochet in position to become the ace he’s paid to be: A plan of occasional rest and limited workloads that allowed him to stay strong and healthy while eclipsing 200 innings for the first time in his major league career.
Garrett Crochet delivered the finest start of his career to lead the Red Sox to victory in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series against the Yankees. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
But it still required an extra dose of moxie to push that limit in Crochet’s first career postseason start, and Cora had it.
“With him leaving me in there, I wanted to honor that decision,” Crochet said. “I felt like he’s put a lot of faith in me this year, and I haven’t let him down yet. So I was going to be damn sure this wasn’t the first time.”
Cora also pulled the right strings against Weaver, who hit immediate trouble when Ceddanne Rafaela worked an 11-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2. Cora stuck with ninth batter Nick Sogard, who delivered with a heads-up running play — taking advantage of Aaron Judge’s sore throwing arm and turning a simple single to right field into a hustle double. Cora then tapped pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida in place of Rob Refsnyder, and his two-run lined single to center proved the decisive go-ahead play.
“Those aren’t decisions for us to make, but whatever [Cora] decides, I think everyone in here believes in it,” Sogard said, “and next man up, whoever is in that day, is going to do their thing.”
Nick Sogard screams at the Red Sox dugout after sliding into second base safely for a double in the seventh inning. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The arc of this Red Sox season hasn’t been easy, and there were times Cora struggled to rein in issues of poor base running, mental mistakes, and errors. But he has navigated some major disruptions along the way, including a season-ending injury to lineup mainstay Triston Casas, the stunning trade of their last World Series champ Rafael Devers to San Francisco, and the exciting arrival and then devastating injury of standout rookie Roman Anthony.
With reminders to “cancel the noise” and “stay the course,” he drove these Sox into the Bronx ready for another chapter in this ongoing baseball rivalry.
“I mean, that’s kind of how it’s been all year. The guys know their roles, and we know what’s expected of us,” shortstop Trevor Story said. “I think that’s communicated very clearly, and it has been all year. It’s fun to see Masa come up there ready to hit first pitch and then get it done. That’s a special thing to do. The moment wasn’t too big and he put a great swing on the ball.”
That he did it against Weaver and not Fried will haunt the Yankees. And haunt Boone.
“They pressured him pretty good in the fourth, fifth, sixth [innings], and had a couple base runners each inning,” Boone explained. “I felt like he kind of cruised through the first few and obviously he ends up pitching great. He had to work pretty hard. I was going to have the sixth be the end, but once we finished with the double play, I wanted him to go out and get Duran. I felt like we were lined up.”
Lined up, and knocked back down. Advantage, Sox.
Advantage, Cora.
Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @Globe_Tara.
