Yankees fans entered Thursday night more confident than usual, but still filled with anxiety. They were entering a do-or-die matchup against the Red Sox to advance to the next round of the playoffs. The night prior, manager Alex Cora burned his bullpen and had a rookie on the mound for Game 3, so New Yorkers weren't filled with their usual skepticism and pessimism.
That was Cora's first misstep. In Game 2, he removed starter Brayan Bello after just 2 1/3 innings and 28 pitches and immediately went to his bullpen. When the dust settled, Boston lost 4-3, six additional pitchers were used, and his second-best reliever in Garrett Whitlock threw 47 pitches (which all but officially knocked him out of action for Game 3).