It just seemed like the Yankees had zero answers for Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, who in his first career playoff start, threw 117 pitches for 11 strikeouts and zero walks.

It was a masterclass by Crochet. He had one moment of weakness, allowing a solo home run to Anthony Volpe, and then any other time he found himself in a jam, he got out of it like this was a May game against the Minnesota Twins.

For Max Fried, it was the same.

Fried threw 6.1 innings of near-flawless baseball, only allowing four hits and three walks, but with six strikeouts to boot.

In the sixth inning, skipper Aaron Boone opted to keep him in to start it and face Red Sox outfielder, Jarren Duran, but then after Fried did his job, Boone made a call to the bullpen.

Big mistake.

In for Fried was Luke Weaver, who on paper seems like a reliable reliever, posting a serviceable 4-4 record with a 3.62 ERA.

But once he came in, all hell broke loose. The first batter he faced was Ceddane Rafaela, hitting in the eight spot, which ended up being a walk.

Next up was Nick Sogard who popped in a double. Following Sogard was Masataka Yoshida who was pinch hitting for Rob Refsnyder, and he hammered both Sogard and Rafaela home to put the Sox ahead.

The problem is, Weaver is a part of a bigger problem, and that’s the Yankees’ bullpen.

New York has been notorious for having a sub-par ‘pen, most notably letting up nine runs in the seventh inning on a September 9th game against the Detroit Tigers.

Not only that, New York has had a bottom-10 bullpen all season, with a team 4.37 ERA.

But this game wasn’t a sign of just how middling the Yankees’ bullpen is, it was a sign off gross mismanagement from Boone.

As one fan put it on X, “Pay a guy ace money. Game 1 of a best of 3 series against your arch rival. Pitch count under 100. Get a quick out in the 7th. The next move? Bring in Luke Weaver who’s been far from a world beater.”

When asked about his decision to take Fried out, Boone attempted to explain himself.

“They pressured him pretty good in the fourth, fifth, sixth, he had a couple of base runners each inning. So, I felt like he kind of cruised through the first few, and obviously he ends up pitching great, but I felt like he had to work pretty hard. I was going to have the sixth be the end, but once we finished with the double play, I wanted him to go out and get Duran. It felt like we were lined up.”

You can say he may have had a point if Fried started the inning shaky, but it was the total opposite. 

He got the out for the player that had a chance to make damage, and then he gets pulled for two players who 1) has some pop to his bat in Rafaela and 2) a player in Sogard who has played 61 career games with zero career home runs.

Nothing in baseball is guaranteed, but you would’ve been better off taking your chances with your ace than a struggling bullpen.

Now, the Bronx Bombers face elimination tomorrow night, with Carlos Rodon taking the mound against Brayan Bello.

First pitch takes place at 6:08 p.m. ET, and will be broadcasted on ESPN.