As New England dealt with a soggy Sunday thanks to the nor’easter that battered the region over the weekend, the Red Sox closed out their strange regular season down in Florida.
Boston’s regular season ended with a 6-2 loss to the Cubs at Tropicana Field, putting the finishing touches on an 87-75 campaign that once appeared headed nowhere. The Red Sox were 14 games under .500 in late June before turning their season around and securing a second consecutive postseason appearance.
With the regular season officially over, Boston’s record resets to 0-0 and on Tuesday night, the Red Sox head to Yankee Stadium for a rematch of last year’s American League Wild Card Series.
Before turning their attention completely toward New York, the Red Sox used Sunday’s unusual finale to get one final look at several players who could factor into their postseason plans.
Willson Contreras returned to the lineup for the first time since being hit on the right hand by a pitch against the Rangers on Sept. 17. After being unable to swing comfortably for much of the past week, Contreras started at designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before Jahmai Jones replaced him in the fifth inning.
“We’re just getting guys off their feet,” Chad Tracy said about removing Contreras from the game in the fifth inning.
Tracy told reporters before the game that Contreras’ hand showed improvement during a team workout on Saturday, allowing him to pencil the slugger into the lineup for Sunday afternoon.
“Pretty significant,” Tracy said. “We were able to come in here yesterday and do a team workout with some guys who needed to touch the mound or get some work. He was one of them. To be able to see him come out, take (batting practice) and hit some live (pitching), that was a huge step.”
Tanner Houck also made his long-awaited return to a major league mound.
Activated from the 60-day injured list before the game, Houck made his first big league start since May 12, 2025, following Tommy John surgery. The 30-year-old allowed three runs on four hits and a walk over three innings, striking out two while throwing 34 of his 50 pitches for strikes.
“It felt good to at least get out there, and just be a part of the team,” Houck told reporters postgame. “It’s been fun to watch from afar. To go out there and actually get to play, after the long process, it’s a good feeling.”
Houck’s return comes at an opportune time for Boston. With Tyron Guerrero unexpectedly placed on the injured list Sunday, Houck could provide another right-handed option out of the bullpen against New York.
The Cubs quickly welcomed Houck back to a big league mound when Alex Bregman, playing in just his second game since returning from multiple fractures in his left cheek, homered in each of his first two at-bats.
Bregman went deep on Houck in the first and third innings, giving him 28 homers on the season. He singled in the fifth, walked in the seventh and added an RBI double in the ninth as part of a four-hit afternoon.
