Red Sox

Alex Cora’s decision to pinch-hit Wilyer Abreu in 8th inning pays off in wild comeback vs. Yankees

The Red Sox scored five unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Friday night.

Wilyer Abreu hit a game-tying RBI double in the eighth inning to help the Red Sox come back against the Yankees. Winslow Townson/Getty Images

By Kaley Brown

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Two days removed from agreeing to a lucrative extension, Alex Cora proved why he’s worth the second-highest managerial contract in MLB.

His decision to pinch-hit Wilyer Abreu in place of Tyler O’Neill in the eighth inning was one of the reasons why the Red Sox came back to beat the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Down by one run entering the eighth, following Ceddanne Rafaela’s towering home run in the seventh to make it a 7-6 game, Cora opted to give Abreu the opportunity to hit against the Yankees’ Clay Holmes. The decision came after Connor Wong put up a game-saving fight in a 10-pitch at-bat to get on base for the pinch-hitter.

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Abreu replaced O’Neill, who kicked off Boston’s scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Cora preferred a left-handed hitter-on-righty pitcher matchup; Abreu is a lefty while O’Neill is a righty.

Boston’s manager typically sits Abreu versus lefty pitchers, hence why he didn’t start Friday’s game against New York’s Nestor Cortes. The outfielder is hitting .277 off of righty pitchers this season, having hit all eight of his home runs off of such arms in 2024.

Abreu continued his dominance against right-handers on Friday with his RBI double off Holmes. He clobbered a line drive to center field on the second pitch of the at-bat to tie the game at seven runs apiece.

In the next at-bat, Masataka Yoshida hit a go-ahead two-run single to give the Red Sox their eventual game-winning 9-7 lead.

Cora talked about Yoshida’s performance at the plate as of late postgame.

“He’s been swinging the bat well,” he said. “He’s healthy, he’s rested. We know the type of hitter that he can be. … He was swinging the bat well in Colorado, and we like the at-bats.”

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The Red Sox ultimately scored five unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Friday, marking the team’s sixth comeback after trailing past seven innings in their last 18 games.