Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Red Sox was a tight one early, with both starters, Cam Schlittler and Payton Tolle, absolutely dealing and allowing just one combined run through the first four innings. But then the fifth inning hit, and things went sideways for Boston the moment manager Chad Tracy decided to yank his young lefty, Payton Tolle, after just 83 pitches.
The Call That Set Off Fireworks
Look, Tolle wasn’t exactly having his most dominant outing this season, even if he did manage to get through the first two outs of the fifth on just eight pitches. The Yankees made him work, had guys on base, but Tolle kept the damage minimal. Still, Tracy went out and made the change. He praised Tolle, saying he “competed extremely well for the time he was out there” and “gave us what he could.” The pitch count, sitting in the mid-80s while trying to finish the fifth, was “probably higher than what you normally see from Payton,” especially in a high-stakes environment like this. Tracy believed Tolle “competed his butt off,” but the decision was made.
Rice Explodes, Yankees Get Breathing Room
Tracy decided to bring in lefty Erik Miller to face Ben Rice, who had already doubled off Tolle in the first before Tolle struck him out in the third. Tracy later explained his thinking wasn’t “necessarily just the pitch count.” He was looking at being “trailing already,” moving “third time through the order,” and Rice having “already hit a double in the gap off of him.” Plus, there was “a nice lane there for Miller.” But then, boom. Rice absolutely clobbered a 97 mph sinker right over the plate. That ball traveled 423 feet to straightaway center for his first home run of the night. Just like that, the Yankees were up 2-0. Tolle, for his part, totally understood the move. “As a competitor, as a starting pitcher in this league, you want to go as long as you can every time,” he said after the game. “But with what our bullpen has done all year, I believe they are going to make the right decision. I want to go as long as I can, but I understand those guys picked me up a lot this year.” Yankees player Spencer Jones called that homer “electric” and “huge for us,” giving them “a little bit of breathing room.” He wasn’t wrong.
Bullpen Crumbles, Season on the Brink
That jolt was exactly what the Yankees needed. Boston’s bullpen, man, they couldn’t keep it together. They ended up using five relievers, and those guys coughed up eight more runs. The crushing blow? Another grand slam from Ben Rice in the eighth inning, putting the game completely out of reach. With that brutal loss in Game 1, the Red Sox are now staring down elimination. Game 2 is Wednesday night, and they’ve gotta find a way to bounce back. They’ve faced adversity all season, but this is it. This is the challenge.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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