Rick Porcello got the ball in the top of the first and Brett Gardner poked a single to center. Chase Headley lined out to a jumping Mookie Betts and Porcello struck out Matt Holiday. Old pal Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to Bogaerts, tagging second base to end the inning. Luis Severino got the ball in the bottom of the first and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short. Andrew Benintendi grounded out and Mr. Mookie struck out to end the inning.
The Sox committed their first blunder when Starlin Castro grounded to Bogaerts who chucked it under the glove of Mitch Moreland for an error to begin the top of the second. One pitch later Aaron Judge launched a 2 run bomb to right to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. A pissed off Porcello recovered to strike out Greg Bird, Austin Romine and Ronald Torreyes to end the inning but the Yankees had the lead. The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second inning as Moreland grounded into the shift. Somehow Hanley Ramirez got a hit to right but was erased on the Jackie Bradley Jr force. Josh "Razor" Rutledge made his season debut by grounding into a force to end the inning.
Gardner flied out to center to open the top of the third inning. Headley walked but Holiday struck out. Headley swiped second but Ellsbury popped up to end the inning. This was not the Sox' day as they went did nothing in the bottom of the third inning. Marco Hernandez somehow singled up the middle and took second on the ground out by Sandy Leon. Xander Bogaerts lofted a ball toward the stands and the 6 foot 7 Judge dove in to get the ball for the second out, although Hernandez moved to third. Things went back to normal as Benny The Kid popped up to end the inning.
The top of the fourth started well when Castro grounded out to third. Judge grounded out and Bird whiffed to end the inning. The bottom of the fourth, not so much. Mr. Mookie did manage to leg out an infield single and Moreland shockingly walked. The rally ended as Ramirez banged into a double play and JBJ flied out to end the inning.
The Yankees threatened in the top of the fifth due to more bad defense. Romine grounded out but Torreyes singled. Leon tried to pick off Torreyes but instead threw the ball completely out of Fenway Park, allowing Torreyes to reach second base. Gardner walked but Porcello recovered to strike out both Headley and Holliday to end the inning. The Sox did absolutely nothing in the bottom of the 5th against Severino. Rutledge and Hernandez struck out before Leon flied out to end the inning.
The Yankees iced the game in the top of the sixth. Ellsbury flied out and Castro struck out but Judge walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Naturally Bird singled home Judge to make it 3-0. Romine lined out but the damage was done. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the sixth as Bogaerts grounded out, Benny The Kid flied out and Mr. Mookie struck out to end the inning.
Porcello returned for the top of the seventh and got Torreyes to fly out and Gardner to fly out, but Headley doubled. Holliday walked to chase Porcello as Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch to Ellsbury, only to walk him to load the bases. Joe Kelly relieved him and got Castro to ground out to end the inning. Once again the Sox were silent in the bottom of the seventh inning as Moreland and Ramirez struck out before JBJ walked. Rutledge grounded into a force to end the inning.
Kelly turned up the heat to strike out Judge to open the top of the eighth. Bird walked but Romine struck out and Torreyes flied out to end the inning. Dellin Betances replaced Severino in the bottom of the eighth and cruised. Hernandez struck out, Leon struck out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Robby Scott had mop up duty in the top of the ninth inning. Gardner looked at strike three and Headley grounded out, but Holliday walked. Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was brought in to end the miserable night in the bottom of the ninth. Somehow the Sox rallied. Benny The Kid drew a leadoff walk and Mr. Mookie doubled him to third. Chris Young pinch hit for Moreland only to ground out, although Benintendi scored to cut the lead 3-1. A wild pitch by Chapman moved Betts to third and Ramirez worked a walk. Suddenly the Sox had the tying run on base but JBJ whiffed. Down to Rutledge, he damn near ended it with a walkoff blast but it went INCHES foul. Razor struck out on the next pitch and that was that. The Yankees had won 3-1.
Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. Not only did he go 0 for 4 at the plate but his first inning error paved the way for the decisive home run by Judge.
The Good:
Joe Kelly tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Robby Scott pitched a scoreless ninth.
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Marco Hernandez was 1 for 3.
The Bad:
Robbie Ross Jr walked the only man he faced.
Josh Rutledge was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout to drop his average to .191
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 2 with a walk.
Chris Young failed to get a hit in his only pinch hit appearance although he did drive in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Rick Porcello gave up 2 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings and took the loss. He deserved better
Final Thoughts:
That sucked.....and so far this season the Red Sox offense sucks. They get shut down more often than not and not having David Ortiz to swat home runs is beginning to take its toll. Then again they're playing mostely utility guys in the infield with Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval hurt. Marco Hernandez finds a way to get on base so maybe he can replace Sandoval if and when Pedroia gets back. It was great to see the Sox show some life in the 9th inning. Say what you will, this year's team has balls. Tomorrow night is the monster match between Chris Sale and Masahiro Tanaka at 7:05 PM.
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