Four Boston Red Sox With Most Pressure to Perform in Postseason

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are set to face off in a rematch of the 2025 Wild Card round at Yankee Stadium. 

With the Red Sox looking to avenge last season’s loss, the pressure is on these four hitters to perform: 

It was a rough regular season for the 30-year-old outfielder, as he finished bottom five in baseball among 135 qualified hitters in batting average (.207, 132nd), on-base percentage (.266, 134th), and weighted runs created plus (69, 134th). 

Despite the rough year, Duran has still found ways to be productive in spurts, reaching the 20 home run, 20 stolen-base mark for the second time in his career.  He has also shown flashes of the player who finished top 10 in American League MVP voting in 2024, carrying the Boston offense through all of May and parts of August. 

After a season-ending bicep injury to Mickey Gasper, Duran is thrust back into a starting role in the postseason. Now, Duran has the chance to make everyone forget about his poor regular season and deliver for the team on the biggest stage. 

The 22-year-old phenom entered the season expected to carry the Red Sox offense after they missed out on a bevy of free-agent sluggers. While he missed 101 games with a torn ligament in his right ring finger, Anthony fell well short of those expectations when he was on the field, hitting just .245/.339/.396/.735 in 55 games. He did, however, finish the regular season on a high note, hitting .333/.375/.633/1.008 in the final seven games. 

After a strong performance in the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team USA (.280/.400/.520/.900, two home runs, seven RBI in seven games), Anthony has shown he’s more than capable of rising to the occasion. As the Red Sox’ leadoff hitter, Anthony will look to rediscover that WBC form and set the table for the big boppers of the Red Sox offense. 

After emptying the farm system to acquire the services of the three-time All-Star, the Red Sox didn’t get the return they wanted from Rutschman. The 28-year-old catcher hit just .184/.253/.356/.609 in his first 24 games in Boston. However, he ended the regular season hitting .333/.355/.567/.922 in the final seven games. 

That said, the Red Sox didn’t acquire Rutschman for his regular-season production. Batting second in the order in Game 1, Rutschman will look to carry that hot streak to New York. 

As was evident in the World Baseball Classic, Abreu thrives in the big moments (.250/.345/.500/.845 with two home runs and seven RBI in seven games for Team Venezuela). He is also one of baseball's streakiest hitters. That said, the 27-year-old enters the postseason on a cold streak, hitting just .207/.286/.329/.615 in 22 games in September. 

As one of only two power hitters in the Red Sox offense, Abreu will look to take advantage of the short porch in right field and get things rolling at the plate. 

Duran, Anthony, Rutschman, Abreu, and the rest of the Boston offense will certainly have their work cut out for them as they face a Yankees pitching staff that posted the lowest ERA in the sport during the regular season.