Red Sox reactions: End of the road as postseason finishes quickly

NEW YORK — Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 4-0 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium Thursday night:

1) The Red Sox made history, but not in the way they would have liked. Since MLB went to a best-of-three wild card round in 2022, the winner of Game 1 went on to win every series...until this one. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, the team winning the series opener went on to win the series. It happened to the other three series this year, too, including two earlier Thursday (Detroit over Cleveland and Chicago over San Diego). But after winning Game 1 Tuesday night, the Red Sox lost the next two, and in the process, found themselves in the record books.

2) It probably came as no surprise that the Red Sox were done in, in large part, by their defensive sloppiness. On a ball in the fourth inning that should have been easily caught by one of them, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu seemed uncertain as to who should catch it. Result? Rafaela made a last-second diving attempt but couldn’t hold onto the ball, as it squirted loose. Later in the Yankees’ four-run inning, Nathaniel Lowe had a chopper deflect off his glove for an error and roll into right field as two runs scored. The Red Sox led the majors in errors, so this development wasn’t a new one.

3) Connelly Early deserved a far better fate in the fourth inning. Through the first three frames, Early had allowed just two hits while striking out five. But after a ball dropped in between Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu in shallow right center for a gift double and a walk to Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees began putting the ball in play against the rookie lefty with three straight ground ball singles producing two runs. None of the singles was hit hard, but the Yankees expertly moved the line against Early, producing consistent — if not hard-hit contact. Finally, an error by Nathaniel Lowe, who deflected a ball past Romy Gonzalez into right field, scoring two and ending Early’s night.

4) All that being said, Early deserves high marks for his showing. It speaks volumes that while his ERA was 7.36 for the game, his FIP (fielding independent) was just 0.68. He showed poised, threw strikes (one walk) and didn’t give up much in the way of hard contact. He’ll be better for this experience in the long-run, even if it’s hard to view it that way now.

5) Worth noting in this series: the Red Sox hit exactly one homer over 27 innings. True, power can be at a premium in the postseason when, by definition, you’re facing quality teams with strong pitching. But surely, a good team could produce more than one homer — a solo shot at that, by Trevor Story, in Game 2 — over the course of three games, especially in a hitter-friendly ballpark like this one.

6) A small thing, and not anything that tipped the balance Thursday night, but the Red Sox need to come sort of consensus on how their catchers receive. Because they’re intent on stealing every strike they can through framing, the Sox left themselves open to a ton of catcher’s interference calls. At some point, getting the occasional strike isn’t the worth the effort.

7) Baseball being what it is, it’s quite likely that Thursday represented the last time some players wore Red Sox uniforms. A number of players (including Rob Refsnyder, Steven Matz, Lucas Giolito, Nathaniel Lowe and Justin Wilson) are eligible for free agency and two significant players — Trevor Story and Alex Bregman — have opt-outs and can become free agents if they wish.

8) Giancarlo Stanton can be a piece or work. Stanton has a longtime habit of admiring homers that turn out to be something less than homers, and it almost cost the Yankees in the second inning. Stanton hit a laser shot to left field. At first, he stood at home plate and admired his handiwork, believing he had the ball out. Then, he looked to the Yankee dugout for approval as he started jogging to first. Finally, when it became apparent that the ball had hit the left field fence and was in play, he began running hard to second, where he just beat the throw. A stronger throw from Jarren Duran would have really embarrassed Stanton.

9) The Red Sox are off Friday and the rest of October before assembling in Fort Myers in February and opening the 2026 season in Cincinnati next March. The Yankees move on to Toronto and face the Blue Jays in the ALDS beginning Saturday.

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