Michael Kay thinks one Alex Cora decision could…
The Red Sox went all in on Game 2, and that could be the explanation they go all out.
Cora taxed his bullpen Wednesday night time, pulling starter Brayan Bello after he recorded just seven outs and gave up two runs in a sport they finally misplaced, 4-3.
“Alex Cora managed this game as if there is no tomorrow,” Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said on the YES Network postgame show. “Unfortunately for him, there is a tomorrow. Now, all that bullpen that he used to get all those outs, they’re going to have to be used again tomorrow.”
Kay beforehand crushed Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone for over-managing Game 1, notably pulling Max Fried in the sixth inning even though he was cruising alongside Boston ace Garrett Crochet.
Alex Cora had a fast hook on Wednesday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Red Sox are beginning rookie left-hander Connelly Early on Thursday night time, reverse fellow Yankees rookie Cam Schittler.
Both pitchers carry a lot of thriller about what they will deliver to the desk in Game 3.
With a rookie making his fifth-major league start Thursday on the heels of asking his bullpen for 17 outs Wednesday in the shedding effort, Cora dangers potential taxation in a win-or-go-home sport.
Cora defended pulling Bello out when he did in his postgame press convention.
“I felt like, at that point, kind of like, ‘We have to do this.’ … It doesn’t feel good, because you want the kid to go out there and get his experience and pitch deep into the game,” Cora said.
“But I felt like at that moment we needed to pivot.”
Michael Kay dished out some harsh criticism of Cora after Game 3. Getty Images
Brayan Bello struggled in Game 2. AP
Whitlock, who gave up the game-winning run on an Austin Wells RBI single, threw 47 pitches, making him unlikely to be obtainable Thursday.
“At that point, we’re trying to win that game. And it didn’t happen,” Cora said when requested about leaving Whitlock in so long. “We were doing everything possible to get to the top of the ninth with a tie game. We were trying to win that game, and it didn’t happen.”
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