After their Wild Card Game 1 victory over the New York Yankees and with another lefty on the mound against them, Alex Cora will ride with the same lineup from the series opener.
Carlos Rodón will start for the Yankees just after 6 p.m. on October 1, and the Red Sox loaded their lineup with righties for favorable matchups. Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez again will take up the leadoff and cleanup spot, respectively to put their lefty-killing bats to good use against Rodón. Trevor Story and Alex Bregman will bat between them.
Brayan Bello will start Game 2 for Boston, and Cora made a notable change from Bello's usual starts. The young righty is most often caught by Connor Wong, who has caught his last 22 starts. Cora has turned to Carlos Narváez in the postseason, however, likely due to his superior play on both sides of the ball.
Narváez has cooled down significantly from his very hot start at the plate at the beginning of the regular season, but Wong has struggled offensively all year. Narváez batted .241/.306/.419 over 118 regular season appearances, while Wong slashed just .190/.262/.238 over 63 games.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora swaps Brayan Bello's usual catcher for Game 2 of the Wild Card round against the Yankees
More work to do. pic.twitter.com/u86O3PhsYO
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 1, 2025
Bello has pitched well against the Yankees throughout his career, and he posted a 1.89 ERA with 17 strikeouts and seven walks against them in 19 innings this year. Bello has struggled to maintain his command in some of his recent starts, however, and he's pitched to a 3.72 ERA with 14 walks over 38.2 innings in his last seven appearances.
Bello most recently faced the Yankees on September 13, and it wasn't his best outing against Boston's bitter rival. He allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts over five innings, which he will hopefully improve on at Yankee Stadium on October 1.
Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida will start Game 2 on the bench, just as they did the night before, but they're likely pinch-hitting options. Abreu is an outstanding defender and reigning Gold Glove winner in right field, and he could make some game-saving plays with his stellar arm in the late innings. He's also hit the second-most home runs on the team this season with 22.
Yoshida was one of the heroes in Game 1 after a clutch pinch-hitting appearance in the seventh inning. He continued his torrid September streak at the plate, when he batted .327.350/.491 with two homers in the final 15 games of the regular season.
Hopefully, Cora's lineup risks pay off for Boston again. Narváez and Bello aren't used to being battery mates after months of starts with Wong behind the dish, but if he can return to his usual success against the Yankees, the change should be no problem.