You read that right, everyone!
A three-run homer by Yastrzemski clinched a playoff spot for the Boston Red Sox.....while they were losing to the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1, at Tropicana Field.
Thankfully, Mike Yastrzemski was playing for the Atlanta Braves, and his three-run homer propelled the Braves over the Houston Astros, thus securing Boston’s spot in the postseason.
Whatever the method of clinching was, the most important thing is that they have made the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Granted, the second Wild Card was not the professed goal of the front office, at least publicly, all winter. But with what we saw in April and May, the fact that we will still have a few more games to watch, podcasts to fight over, and articles to write means here’s too small victories.
As for the game itself, it was probably the second-to-last time we will have to see Patrick Sandoval in a Red Sox uniform, so again, a small moral victory. And since it was a Sandoval game, it was a scheduled loss, as they say.
Tampa got out early with a four-run first that sent all of Red Sox Nation scurrying to their phones, computers, and various streaming services to see if they could watch the Braves game and bring a little joy to their rainy Sunday afternoon.
Stop me if you have heard this before, but Sandoval had lots of traffic on the bases in the bottom of the first.
It started with a four-pitch walk to leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz, followed by a hit-by-pitch with two strikes to Ryan Vilade and a single by Junior Caminero to load the bases. Jonny DeLuca doubled in two runs, and then Chandler Simpson singled in two more to give Tampa a 4-0 lead before Sandoval had even recorded an out.
At that point, both Chad Tracy and Kevin Cash exited their dugouts, met at home plate, and conferred with the umpires. They agreed that the game was over, and while Major League Baseball doesn’t allow for forfeits, they would simply play out the rest of the game amicably.
The only stipulation Tracy asked for, and was graciously granted by the Rays skipper, was that the game not end in a shutout for the Red Sox. Cash countered that both teams could score one more run at a time of their choosing, and both parties shook hands and went back to their dugouts.
In typical Red Sox fashion, they held that run until the top of the ninth, when they could do it in grand fashion by allowing Trevor Story to extend his hitting streak with a solo home run.
T-Rex Returns
The only positive event that could be taken from the waste of time at the Trop was the return of Tyron Guerrero from the IL. Guerrero pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out two Rays and topping out at 101 MPH. He threw 12 pitches, 11 of them fastballs, and 10 of those 11 were 100 MPH or greater.
The one that wasn’t was a paltry 99 MPH.
Maybe Notable
From an offensive standpoint, Roman Anthony and Caleb Durbin both had two hits apiece.
The game was meaningless for eight innings, but a hot streak for a hitter can come at any time and cannot be downplayed, given how difficult the sport really is and just how fragile a baseball player’s confidence can be.
Enjoy the Moment
Based on the pictures from Tropicana Field once the Houston game went final, we don’t have to worry about the Red Sox enjoying the fruits of their labor.
As I mentioned earlier, walk in, run in, beat the door down, or sneak in dressed as someone else while hiding under a breakfast cart, I don’t care! Just get into the playoffs.
Boston will be one of the 12 teams that gets to play at least two more baseball games in 2026 when the postseason begins in a weeks time. Eighteen other teams will be packing their stuff and scheduling tee times.
This is a kid’s game played by grown men, and it is supposed to be fun, at least for a little while.
I’m going to try to enjoy some of it, even if it is just the buildup to the series and the discussion prior to Cam Schlittler and Max Fried throwing back-to-back shutouts with 10 K’s each.
Challenge to the Readers
With that, I would like to offer up a challenge to the readers in the hopes of giving me something fun to do as I try to write the final six editions of the 2026 Boston Red Sox regular season.
If you have noticed, I have tried to incorporate various pop-culture references into articles or use them entirely as the theme for an article.
From the worlds of music, film, television, literature, art, or anything else, it doesn’t matter.
Please feel free to share a thought in the chat that you would like me to try to fit into one of these final six articles before we have to really dig into Red Sox-Yankees. I’ll do my best to make these games at least fun to read about.
Images Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/Giants/posts/san-francisco-will-always-have-much-love-for-forevergiant-mike-yastrzemski-/1588354799315566/ and https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/1983/10/02/one-last-fenway-round-for-carl-yastrzemski/XL5kyHbjiLLXgIQ96lta2O/story.html