BOSTON -- The Red Sox bid adieu to Fenway Park for the regular season two days earlier than expected, but they went out in style, sweeping the Cubs in a split doubleheader, capped by a 2-0 victory in the Game 2 nightcap.
In a unique twist, this three-game series will conclude on Sunday at a neutral site (Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg) due to a nor’easter expected to pound the Boston area this weekend.
As the Sox got ready to head south, they did so in hopes Fenway Park will host playoff games for the first time since 2021.
To accomplish that mission, the Red Sox will have to win their best-of-three-game Wild Card Series against the Yankees on the road next week.
The first possible game at Fenway in this postseason would be Game 3 of a potential Division Series against the Rays Oct. 7.
Wilyer Abreu broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double that landed high off the Green Monster in left field with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Brayan Bello, whose in-season turnaround has been one of the stories of the second half for the Red Sox, fired four scoreless innings (plus one batter in the fifth) in his final tune-up before the postseason.
The day started with a 4-3 win by the Red Sox that cliched their No. 5 seed in the AL postseason standings, setting up the much-anticipated rematch from last year with the Yankees.