Overview
- The Red Sox were stranded in Chicago after a Thursday night tow‑cart failure and then faced a cockpit switch or cockpit light issue the next day that kept the same charter grounded for roughly a day.
- Flight‑tracker data show the club’s reported Delta charter landed at LaGuardia about 4:35 p.m. Friday and the team did not enter the Citi Field visiting clubhouse until about 5:05 p.m., prompting MLB to push first pitch from 7:15 p.m. to roughly 7:50 p.m.
- Travel head Mark Cacciatore booked rooms across two Chicago hotels late Thursday and coordinated buses and rebooking that let the team return to the airport the next day.
- Despite the compressed pregame routine, Boston won the delayed opener 6-2 behind Sonny Gray and timely offense, extending the club’s recent hot stretch and limiting immediate competitive harm.
- The episode follows a June 24 travel snafu for the Red Sox and raises questions about charter maintenance, team travel procedures, and which officials have decision authority over game delays that could affect player readiness going forward.