Alex Cora Says Red Sox Fans Need to Be 'Better' After Yankees Chants at Fenway Park

Red Sox manager Alex Cora is not happy that Boston fans were unable to drown out "Let's go Yankees" chants during the home team's 8-1 loss Friday at Fenway Park.

"Let's get the lead and change the chants," Cora said Saturday, per MassLive's Christopher Smith. "It's been happening for a while here. It's happening somewhere else. I saw the other day the Dodgers had like 5,000 people marching in the Bronx, going to Yankee Stadium.

"I think people are more willing to travel and follow their teams. It's not an excuse. It should be a lot better here as far as like our fans showing up for us. But at the same time, we haven't been good in a while. So there's a balance, and hopefully sooner rather than later we can change that, change the narrative and be 80 percent to 20 percent our way."

The Red Sox and Yankees face off again at Fenway Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Friday's loss, which dropped the Red Sox to 35-35 on the season and leaves them 14.0 games back of the Yankees for first in the AL East, also marked the first time former Boston slugger Alex Verdugo returned to Fenway since his December trade.

Verdugo celebrated his homecoming with a first-pitch home run that earned loud cheers from the visitors in the stands. He finished the night with a four-RBI performance to lead the Yankees to the win.

The Red Sox are currently averaging just under 32,000 fans in attendance at 36 games at Fenway, giving them the 12th-highest home attendance in the MLB.

Those numbers track how many tickets are sold, not how many fans are actually in the seats at games. MassLive's Sean McAdam wrote on May 26 that "a simple eye test reveals that many are buying tickets, but not using them."

Boston sold out 20 of the team's 81 home games in 2023, Smith reported. So far this season the Red Sox have only reported a sellout in the team's home opener, per McAdam.

The Red Sox are far from being the team that sold out an MLB-record 820 consecutive games (794 regular-season, 26 postseason) at Fenway Park between May 2003 and April 2013.

Boston has made some efforts to reverse this trend with marketing efforts selling fans seats for $29, a price that includes a $15 voucher for food and drink, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

The ultimate draw for more home fans could be fielding a team above .500. That will require a bounce-back performance from starter Cooper Criswell as he takes the mound against Verdugo and the Yankees Saturday night.