LOS ANGELES — Stepping into Dodger Stadium was something of a full circle moment for Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.
“Love this place,” Tracy said. “A lot of cool memories here.”
Growing up Tracy used to regularly attend Dodgers games while his father, Jim Tracy, served as the clubs manager between 2001-05. During that time the elder Tracy went 427-383 in five seasons at the helm, leading the Dodgers to their first division title in nine years in 2004.
The Dodgers clinched that title in memorable fashion, beating the San Francisco Giants on a walk-off home run by Steve Finley.
“I could probably show you where I was sitting,” Tracy said. “Lost a pair of Oakleys, they fell off my hat and into the lower deck, so this place is awesome and it’s cool to be back.”
At that time still a young adult just starting his baseball journey, Tracy now returns as a big league manager in his own right. Entering Friday Tracy was 47-34 through his first 81 games leading the Red Sox, exactly half of a full MLB season, and under his leadership the Red Sox have gone from a last-place disappointment to a club with genuine playoff aspirations.
In that respect the Dodgers represent a great litmus test, though Tracy downplayed the notion.
“Any time you play a really good baseball team, certainly it can be viewed as a test. But I also don’t think if you lose a series to a good baseball team it’s like oh well we don’t stack up,” Tracy said. “I don’t view it that way, I just view it as really good baseball team, really good test, but you’ve still got to go out and play and execute.”
Either way, Tracy said his brother Brian — a Los Angeles-based area scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates — would be in attendance for Friday’s opener, something that wasn’t on his or anyone else’s radar when the 2026 schedule was first announced last summer.
“I wouldn’t say that because it wasn’t even on my radar at the beginning of the season. I was working on playing against Rochester and Lehigh, so it’s very cool to be back here, I haven’t been back in a long time.”
Extra innings
Top Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias started at second base for the first time since being called up to Triple-A on Friday. Arias usually plays shortstop but has occasionally gotten work at second base over the past month and a half. … Tracy said Roman Anthony (right wrist sprain) was scheduled to take 30 swings on Friday and will continue to do so as he ramps up in Fort Myers.