Sabathia got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to right to start. Dustin Pedroia walked but Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play to end the inning. E-Rod got the ball in the bottom of the first and Brett Gardner singled to center to start. Jacoby Ellsbury flied out to left and Bryce Brentz nearly cleaned out Xander Bogaerts on a line drive by Carlos Beltran. Alex Rodriguez forced Gardner at second to end the inning.
David Ortiz lined out to short to start the top of the second and Hanley Ramirez popped up to left. Jackie Bradley Jr got his first hit against Sabathia with a bloop single to left. Aaron Hill struck out swinging to end the inning. Brian McCann grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Mark Teixeira grounded back to the mound. Didi Gregorius flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Bryce Brentz reached when Didi Gregorius threw his grounder away for an error. Sandy Leon hit a bullet to third but Mr. Mookie got a base hit to center. Pedroia walked to load the bases and it looked like Bogaerts grounded into a double play to end the inning, but alert Sox manager John Farrell challenged that Bogaerts was safe at first. Sure enough, Bogaerts was ruled safe and Brentz scored a run. Ortiz flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Yankees struck back in the bottom of the third as Starlin Castro popped up to first to start. Chase Headley popped up to second but Gardner hit a home run all the way to Shea Stadium to tie the game. Ellsbury grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox answered in the top of the fourth as Ramirez flied out to center to start. JBJ beat out an infield single to third but Hill popped up to second. Brentz also beat out a roller to third and Leon lashed a base hit to left to score Bradley. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases but Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Leon drives in a run
Beltran flied out to left to open the bottom of the fourth before A-Rod walked. McCann singled to right but Teixeira grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Bogaerts flied out to center to open the top of the fifth before Ortiz also flied out to center. Sox analyst Jerry Remy told a hilarious story of when he was with the California Angels, manager Dick Williams had second base placed to the right so his small ball lineup could reach second easier. Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning. Gregorius doubled to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Castro lined out to short. Headley grounded out to short to move Gregorius to third and Gardner walked. Ellsbury popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox broke it open in the top of the sixth as JBJ got a base hit to left to start. Hill hit a roller to third and Headley threw low to first, under the glove of Teixeira for an error to move Bradley to third. Brentz grounded out to third but Leon crushed his second home run of the season to ice the game. Mr. Mookie drilled a base hit to right to chase Sabathia. Anthony Swarzak came in to pitch and Pedroia grounded out to third to move Betts to second. Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Leon hits one out
Beltran popped up to first to start the bottom of the sixth before A-Rod flied out to right. McCann popped up to second to end the inning.
Ortiz walked to start the top of the seventh but Ramirez forced him at second. JBJ grounded out to first to move Ramirez to second but Hill lined out to right to end the inning. Teixeira popped up to first to start the bottom of the seventh before Gregorius struck out swinging. Castro grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Rodriguez who tossed one of his best games of the season. He allowed just 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 run in 7 innings.
Good work Rodriguez
Brentz grounded out to third to start the top of the eighth before Leon struck out swinging. Mr. Mookie took strike three to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Headley greeted him with a home run all the way to Albany to cut the lead. Gardner struck out swinging, Ellsbury grounded out to short and Beltran popped up to short to end the inning with the Yankees down 5-2.
Richard Bleier came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Pedroia flied out to center to start. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Ortiz got a base hit to left. Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning. Koji Uehara came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and A-Rod popped up to short to start. McCann struck out swinging and Teixeira grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Hero of The Night is Sandy Leon. His three run home run propelled the Sox to victory.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win by throwing 7 innings of 1 run ball on 4 hits and 2 walks.
Koji Uehara earned his sixth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Matt Barnes allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 3 but walked twice.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Aaron Hill was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Bryce Brentz was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Everything is coming up Red Sox and now the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays have something to fear. Not only does Eduardo Rodriguez look right but Drew Pomeranz is expecting to activated tomorrow. Those two along with Rick Porcello, David Price and Steven Wright are going to give the Sox a 1-5 punch that nobody can match. How about Sandy Leon coming out of nowhere to be in the running for AL MVP? Who saw that coming last year? As long as the Sox don't suffer any more devastating injuries, this team is primed for a stretch run. The offense just needs to remain consistent and this team is going places, unlike the Yankees. Good to see Rodriguez pitch well and Leon hit the home run to push the streak to six wins in a row. The win improved the Sox to 51-38, 2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Yankees out of the Bronx tomorrow night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. David Price (9-6) takes on Masahiro Tanaka of New York at 8:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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