Chad Tracy pulled starter Sonny Gray after 4⅔ innings, and for a second straight night the bullpen let the Red Sox manager down. The Rays await the Yankees in the ALDS.

Anthony, who exited Game 1 against the Yankees, learned Wednesday that the right hand ligament he partially tore in May remains damaged. He also suffered additional strains.

An MRI on Wednesday showed “new strains to different muscles in his wrist, in addition to exasperating the [previous] injury,” manager Chad Tracy said.

An MRI on Wednesday showed “new strains to different muscles in his wrist, in addition to exasperating the [previous] injury,” manager Chad Tracy said.

The Red Sox will try to do what the Yankees did last year: win the next two after dropping the opener. “I haven’t heard the fat lady sing yet,” Payton Tolle said. “I believe in us.”

Tolle and Schlittler both learned from current Red Sox director of pitching Ben Buck, who saw them achieve tremendous success with four-seamers, sinkers, and cutters.

The Sox were one of the least-productive teams in baseball against pitches of 95 miles per hour or greater this year.

Boston's ace will be limited to short relief duty after not pitching since April because of a shoulder injury. He has never played for Chad Tracy.

The Red Sox fell in the AL Wild Card Series to the Yankees last year, but will hope for better results this time around.

Jumping from pitching against fellow Red Sox to pitching in the playoffs in the Bronx would be a massive step.

A year ago, Tolle was just a rookie reliever in the postseason. Now, he'll likely lead Boston's rotation in New York.

Before the 2020s, it was fairly common by the League Championship Series to see groups of a half-dozen or more scouts from one team covering the opposite league’s LCS.

He could possibly miss all of October, if the Red Sox advance. His absence is a major hit to a bullpen that has been a strength for the Sox.

He could possibly miss all of October, if the Red Sox advance. His absence is a major hit to a bullpen that has been a strength for the Sox.

Arias, the Red Sox' minor league offensive player of the year, was deemed worthy of keeping around as a part of a stay-ready group in Fort Myers, Fla.

The loss dropped the Red Sox to 85-74 and — with three games to go — ensured that they will not match their 89 wins from last year.

Contreras took BP on the field for upwards of 20 minutes on Tuesday — and said then that it went only “OK” — and apparently regressed in the days after.

Contreras took batting practice in the indoor cage, as he did earlier in the week.

Gray is lined up to start in next week’s Wild Card Series, likely in New York against the Yankees – affording him one more opportunity to dispel a narrative.

Sonny Gray (18th win), Aroldis Chapman (35th save) and Jarren Duran (2 for 3, 20th stolen base) deliver in a 1-0 victory over the Guardians.

Rafaela caught all three Guardians batted balls in the first inning, laced a single in the second inning and departed in the top of the third.

Rafaela caught all three Guardians batted balls in the first inning, laced a single in the second inning and departed in the top of the third.

Saturday's game could also be moved up if it helps the two teams play this series before the end of the regular season.

Saturday's game could also be moved up if it helps the two teams play this series before the end of the regular season.

Pinch hitter Mickey Gasper’s tying homer in the eighth inning went for naught. The matchup marked the start of a six-game homestand to end the regular season.

Crochet (shoulder) threw live batting practice to fellow Red Sox rehabber Ceddanne Rafaela prior to the series opener vs. the Guardians.

In electing to keep Tracy heading into an uncertain 2027, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and team ownership maintain an extra degree of continuity.

In electing to keep Tracy heading into an uncertain 2027, Craig Breslow and team ownership maintain an extra degree of continuity

In a view perhaps informed by his playing career, Breslow has learned to remain open to uncomfortable in-season change.

Breslow was the subject of plenty of criticism this season, but his Red Sox turned things around and earned a spot in the postseason.

Improbably, incredibly, the Red Sox have come back from being 14 games under .500 to clinch a spot in the postseason.

After winning on Friday, Boston scored two runs in the last two games against the Rays and was 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position, leaving 14 men on base.

Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez will face the Guardians this week, and maybe the Yankees in the playoffs.

With Eli White likely out of the picture, the Red Sox could turn to Jarren Duran or even Braiden Ward as a speedster off the bench in the postseason.

But Whitlock is a realist: The Sox’ rotation seems full for the foreseeable future.

Houck has pitched as both a starter and reliever throughout his Red Sox career.

Tolle's achievement was rarer in Sox lore than cycles (23), no-hitters (18), and World Series championships (nine).

Tolle finished the eighth immaculate inning in Red Sox history by striking out Nick Loftin, Bobby Witt Jr., and Jac Caglianone on nine pitches.

The 23-year-old lefthander, who will start Sunday against the Royals, is having the best first season in the Red Sox rotation since World War II.

Suarez held Kansas City to one run and four five hits in seven innings, while striking out eight and walking none.

A meticulous practice routine as well as creativity and vision on the mound are among the factors that have led to success for the Red Sox righthander.

Gasper gives the Red Sox an extra option behind the plate as Adley Rutschman deals with pain in his right elbow.

Bennett allowed five runs in a span of eight pitches in the third inning.

Mickey Gasper started at catcher in Rutschman's place, Gasper's first appearance at catcher in a major League game since June 22.

Gasper’s recent 16-game run at the plate have few precedents in Sox history, and stands as a testament to his extraordinary level of perseverance.