Red Sox win Chad Tracy's managerial debut, beat Orioles 5-3 for second straight victory

The last 72 hours have been a roller coaster for the Red Sox.

The weekend trip to Baltimore was supposed to be a reset, a chance to get away from Fenway Park after a 2-5 homestand that ended with a sweep at the hands of the first-place Yankees.

Friday brought more of the same. Brayan Bello was tagged for five home runs, Boston was blown out, and Craig Breslow had seen enough.

Less than 24 hours later, everything changed.

With an early start time on Saturday due to incoming weather, no one knew it would be Alex Cora’s final game as Red Sox manager. He went out with a bang, Boston erupted for 17 runs on 17 hits, looking like a completely different team.

Hours later, Breslow fired Cora and five members of his staff, promoting WooSox manager Chad Tracy to interim manager.

It’s not even May, and the Red Sox have already blown up their coaching staff, a dramatic reset with 135 games still left on the schedule.

In the series finale, Boston debuted its new leadership group, with Tracy on the bench alongside new third base coach Chad Epperson and hitting coach Collin Hetzler, beginning the process of establishing a new culture.

Connelly Early turned in the longest start of his big league career, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing two runs on four hits, including a pair of solo homers. He walked one and struck out four. His previous career high came April 15 against the Twins in Minnesota.

With the clubhouse still processing the managerial change, Early said the focus was on supporting one another and moving forward as a team.

“We talked within the team before the game and just wanted to go out there and play baseball and support each other,” Early said. “So I think we did a really good job today, played some really good baseball and played the way AC would want us to play.”

The left-hander threw 32 four-seam fastballs, averaging 94.1 mph and topping out at 97.3 mph. He induced four swings and misses with the heater. He also recorded three swings and misses with his curveball and one with his slider, according to Baseball Savant.

The two blemishes for Early came off the bat of Samuel Basallo, allowing a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. Gunnar Henderson added a solo homer to right-center field in the sixth and finished the game with two RBI. 

“I just think we played really good baseball,” Early said. “We played hard baseball today. We stole some bags, got some really big knocks in there, pitched the ball really well. So that’s the way AC wants us to go out there and play. And I think we did a really good job just sticking with what we do.”

Tracy had high praise for Early, whom he managed briefly during his time with the WooSox. 

“He was awesome,” Tracy said. “He was really, really good. He fell behind in some counts ... Kind of midway point of the game, he was falling behind, but he got back in counts really quickly, attacked the zone. He had some three-ball counts that I felt like he won. Instead of a walk, got a strikeout, which was awesome. And he pitched deep in the game.”

Despite the chaos surrounding him, Early remained locked in on the mound. 

“Just another game,” he said. “Sometimes can’t let stuff get personal. Just got to go out there,  and baseball is sometimes a business thing. So just knowing that we had each other’s backs and supporting each other along the way, it’s really big. So just want to go out there and play good baseball.”

The Red Sox were aggressive on the basepaths, swiping four bags in the win. Caleb Durbin led the way with two steals, while Jarren Duran and Marcelo Mayer each added one. Boston finished 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts, with Andruw Monasterio thrown out to end the sixth inning.

The Red Sox didn’t break through until the top of the fifth, when Durbin led off with a single, stole second, and came around to score on an RBI single from Monasterio. Moments later, Willson Contreras extended the lead with a two-run homer — his second in as many games — to make it 3-0.

Contreras’ blast traveled 406 feet to left-center, coming off an 87 mph slider and leaving his bat at 108.6 mph. He’s now 19-for-52 (.365) with six homers, three doubles, and 17 RBIs in 13 games at Camden Yards.

Boston added two more in the sixth to push the lead to 5-1. The inning began with three straight hits: a Wilyer Abreu single, an RBI triple from Ceddanne Rafaela, and an RBI single by Mayer past the drawn-in infield.

Orioles starter Kyle Bradish allowed three runs over five innings on four hits, walking four and striking out three.

There was also a moment Boston could have challenged earlier in the game. Rafaela was called out at third in the second inning while trying to tag from second on a fly ball to right. Though he appeared to overslide with his right leg, his left foot may have remained on the bag as Blaze Alexander applied the tag, completing a double play.

Tracy should have challenged the play at third base, but at the end of the day, it didn't haunt the Sox. 

Aroldis Chapman made history, recording his 1,340th and 1,341st career strikeouts, passing Goose Gossage for second-most all-time among relievers. He now trails only Hoyt Wilhelm (1,363). 

Despite being short-staffed, the Red Sox executed a clear game plan, applying pressure on the bases while backing it up with a strong outing from Early.

Mayer is also starting to heat up at the plate. After hitting .174 with a .543 OPS through his first 18 games, he’s gone 6-for-15 (.400) with three doubles and three RBIs over his last six, including a 1-for-4 performance with an RBI in Sunday’s win.

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for Tracy, who learned he would become the Red Sox’ interim manager in the middle of a WooSox home game against the Syracuse Mets on Saturday.

“My initial reaction was that maybe there was a player move we needed to talk about or something like that,” said Tracy. “I went inside and called Bres. The content was fairly simple. He told me what was happening, what had gone down and said they were going to make me the interim manager of the Boston Red Sox.”

He chatted with Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham on the phone and then Breslow. 

“I was silent for a second,” said Tracy, recalling his conversation with Breslow. “My immediate thought was of Alex, Ramon (Vazquez) and some of the people that I’ve gotten to know very well. But also, the excitement and the heart gets going. I’m like, ‘What an amazing opportunity.’ But even in that moment, toeing the line between happiness and internally battling, (thinking) about people I care about.”

With Sunday’s win, Tracy earned his first victory as Red Sox manager and the 500th of his managerial career. The clubhouse finally had something to celebrate, as players and coaches doused him with beer, champagne, and shaving cream in honor of the milestone.

“It was awesome,” said a beaming Tracy. “The guys celebrated it with me, dumped some beer on me and stuff, but it was really special.”

He will now need to turn the page and get his club ready to play a crucial three-game series with the reigning American League East champions. 

The Red Sox will open a three-game series in Toronto on Monday, with left-hander Ranger Suárez (1-2, 4.00 ERA) set to face Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease (1-0, 2.10 ERA).