‘OCTOBER HITS DIFFERENT’ is the theme of this postseason, and  Game 2 of the Wild Card series between the Red Sox and Yankees proved exactly why. Boston arrived at the Bronx after dominating Game 1 with shutdown pitching and timely hitting. Wednesday night looked almost the same until a single misplay. The Yankees clawed back to win 4-3, equalizing the series and forcing a do-or-die Game 3. Now, the man responsible for the turning point isn’t hiding.

The chaos came in the bottom of the fifth when the game was knotted at 2-2. Justin Slaten, a Red Sox reliever, had gotten the first two batters out when he walked Trent Grisham, putting a runner on base before Aaron Judge. When Grisham got to second base on a wild pitch, Judge hit a crisp liner to left field. Jarren Duran raced in and got his glove on the ball, but it popped out and hit the ground. Grisham was already running with two outs, and he easily scored from second base, giving the NYY a 3-2 lead.

Duran didn’t deflect or make excuses while talking with NESN after the game. “As it was coming in, I thought it was hit a little harder than it was,” he said. “I didn’t really have to go into a full dive right there. But it’s on me.” He paused before adding the weight of what happened.

“Yeah, I mean, this one’s gonna sting a little bit. I know that game is 100% on me if I make that play. Trevor hits the homer, we take the lead. But I messed it up, gave them momentum. And then things just happen from there. But that one’s on me, I’m gonna have to wear that one.”

The mistake stings even more considering what Duran brings to the Red Sox.

He signed a one-year, $3.85M contract with a 2026 opt-out and has been a reliable clubhouse presence. This season, over 620 at-bats, he hit 16 home runs, drove in 84 runs, and stole 24 bases. His stats were .256/.332/.774. Duran played solid defense and didn’t make any mistakes in Game 1 of the Wild Card. But Wednesday night’s drop proved how one moment can overshadow an entire season of steady work.

The game didn’t end there, though.

Trevor Story hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to tie the game for Boston. The Yankees hit back, but Boston hit back again. Finally, in the eighth, Austin Wells hit a two-out single that drove in a run for the Yankees, giving them the lead they needed. Their bullpen closed the door in the last innings to keep the score at 4–3.

Game 2’s back-and-forth drama set the stage perfectly for Thursday’s elimination game. Despite the loss, Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman sounded optimistic and completely charged for Game 3.

“It’s awesome. This is what baseball’s all about. Just be aggressive, be yourself, trust yourself. Next pitch, and keep going.”

But as Boston prepares for the winner-take-all showdown, they’ll need more than optimism. They’ll need to clean up both their defense and their pitching, two areas that faltered when it mattered most.

Fielding errors met by overworked arms

Jarren Duran’s misplay was only one part of where things went wrong. The Red Sox had problems that went beyond one dropped liner.

And that was the arms! Alex Cora turned to his bullpen sooner than expected, taking Brayan Bello out before the third inning was over. It was a risky move that showed how urgent things were and how little Boston had to work with.

Bello’s struggle was clearly visible at the mound. He had a 2.99 ERA in his first 24 starts, but September showed him up by giving up 5.40 runs in five games. That continued on Wednesday night, when he gave up a two-run home run in the first inning and put two more runners on base in the third. Cora made a rapid decision and called the bullpen.

The Red Sox went all-in on relievers in Game 2 because Garrett Crochet had a long stint in Game 1. Yet the numerous changes in pitchers didn’t help much.

The Bronx Bombers took advantage of every mistake and got back on track every time Boston fought back. In the end, it wasn’t only the misplay in left field that made Game 3 so important; it was also Boston’s starters and relievers not being able to finish innings cleanly. Much like Duran’s mistake changed the game’s momentum, the arms couldn’t stop the bleeding.

With Game 3 scheduled on Thursday, Boston has to be very careful in every department, because one error and the goal of the World Series will be over.