Red Sox win meaningless games, build postseason momentum Friday

COMMENTARY

Boston ended up in a mess of a scheduling predicament when a Nor’easter began rolling up the East Coast just in time for its last series of the regular season.

And though Red Sox-Cubs didn’t mean a whole lot to the former, Boston still squeaked out two wins with the opposite of its A-team on the mound and a few key positional players resting, too.

For Chicago and the National League playoff picture, the series has more serious implications, which is why it was so important to fit the games in, regardless of weather. Ultimately, the Red Sox, Cubs, and MLB, decided on a Friday doubleheader, and a Saturday neutral-site game in Tampa to avoid the impending storm.

Boston could certainly have phoned in the whole series to get ready for the (highly likely, and now official) wild-card series against the Yankees. And to an extent, some could make the argument they did. At least in terms of the construction of the lineup and no risk to any meaningful pitchers. The correct move, no doubt.

But the players that took to the diamond did so with the will to win. And win they did.

In Game 1 Friday, the Red Sox went down 3-0 in the first two innings before clawing their way back even in the fifth and taking a 4-3 lead in the seventh. Roman Anthony went 3 for 3, Adley Rutschman drove in two runs, and Chad Tracy let Jake Bennett loose in a three-inning relief appearance after Alec Gamboa got them in a bit of a bind.

Bennett sharpened himself up in case he’s needed deeper in the playoffs: he tossed three scoreless innings, giving up three hits in the process but not getting into much trouble.

Game 2 was a tale of two teams that didn’t appear willing to burn themselves out ahead of their respective playoff series. But after seven scoreless innings on both sides, Boston broke through in the eighth when Wilyer Abreu (playing the role of designated hitter) drove in the game’s only two runs.

Even better? Boston only used two pitchers in the winning effort. Brayan Bello started, pitched four innings, and then Chad Tracy put the ball in the hand of Jedixson Paez to finish things out. Paez actually looked good for the most part too. He struck out five and didn’t allow any runs, combining with Bello for the shutout.

Nobody exerted themselves too much, but everybody stayed just sharp enough to head into Tuesday’s wild-card game without rust. The ideal outcome for Tracy and company.

And even though Boston had no real reason to fight hard on Friday, the fact that it still won two games against an impressive Chicago roster says something. The Red Sox will have a difficult challenge trying to knock off the Yankees in the Bronx, but they’ve passed most every stress test of the last three months.

The teams that refuse to lose are the ones that make noise in October. And even on Friday, Boston would not be denied not one, but two home wins. They don’t go down easy, and that shouldn’t be any different in New York.