The Sox struck first in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts led the game off with a base hit to left field. Andrew Benintendi followed with a ground ball base hit past short that allowed Mookie to go to third. Xander Bogaerts grounded into a fielder's choice, erasing Benintendi at second but allowing Betts to score the game's first run. Mitch Moreland flied out to deep left and Hanley Ramirez grounded out but the Sox now led 1-0. Drew Pomeranz got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and struck out Brett Gardner to begin. Gary Sanchez whiffed on a 95 mph fastball but Aaron Judge inside outed a single to right. Pomeranz froze Matt Holiday at a pitch at the knees to end the inning.
Who else but Aaron Judge would step up in the top of the second to rob Jackie Bradley Jr of extra bases by slamming into the wall, running down a line drive. Christian Vazquez whiffed and Pablo Sandoval took strike three to end the inning. The Yankees struck back in the bottom of the second. Starlin Castro popped up to begin the bottom of the second inning but Aaron Hicks walked. Did Gregorious singled but Mr. Mookie took the ball and fired it into the bleachers, scoring Hicks and advancing Gregorious to third. Chase Headley struck out on a big curve and Chris Carter lined one right to Sandoval to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the third as Deven Marrero grounded right back to Tanaka to start. Mr. Mookie grounded to third and Benny The Kid popped up in short order. Pomeranz' pitch count rose as he retired Gardner on a ground out to start the bottom of the third. Sanchez popped up to short where Marrero dove in front of Bogaerts for the out much to Xander's surprise. Judge walked but Holiday popped up to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the fourth inning Bogaerts broke a 9 in a row streak by Tanaka with a walk and Moreland blasted a bad cutter into the upper deck for a 2 run home run. Ramirez joined the homer parade with a line drive shot to left for his 8th home run of the year. JBJ flied out to deep left and Vazquez grounded out. Sandoval grounded out to end the inning but the Sox had a 4-1 lead.
Could Pomeranz pitch with a 3 run lead? He whiffed Castro on a curve in the dirt but Hicks beat out a ground ball to Sandoval. After a 13 pitch at bat, Grigorious beat out an infield single that left the crowd in a frenzy. Pomeranz then got a gift when Headley grounded right back to him for the double play to end the inning. Pomeranz was up to 94 pitches but still had the 4-1 lead.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth. Marrero and Mr. Mookie grounded out real quick but Benny The Kid crushed a solo home run into the upper deck in right. Bogaerts flied out to end the inning but the Sox were up 5-1.
The Yankees answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth when Carter clubbed a solo home run to left to cut the lead to 3. Gardner whiffed and Sanchez grounded out but Judge doubled. On a full count and his 123rd pitch, Pomeranz whiffed Holliday to end the inning. Pomeranz struggled but had done enough to go 5 innings leading 5-2.
Tommy Layne came in to pitch to Moreland only to walk him. Chad Green came in and dominated. Ramirez popped up, JBJ flied out and Vazquez whiffed to end the inning. The Yankees began their comeback in the bottom of the 6th inning. For some reason Robby Scott was brought in to face the righty Castro and naturally he singled. The switch hitting Hicks singled Castro to third, and he scored on the Gregorious double play. Headley flied out to end the inning but it was now 5-3.
Green continued to dominate in the top of the seventh inning. Sandoval and Marrero both struck out and Mr. Mookie flied out to end the inning. Joe Kelly turned up the heat big time in the bottom of the seventh inning. Carter grounded out but Gardner walked after Kelly was squeezed. Sanchez grounded out to bring up Judge. After dialing it up to 103 mph only for Judge to foul off consecutive pitches, Kelly went to the 93 mph slider to strike him out to end the inning. Great work Kelly.
Green came back for the top of the eighth and dominated. Benny The Kid struck out, Bogaerts grounded out and Moreland whiffed to end the inning. It was up to Matt Barnes to keep the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning with Josh Rutledge in the game at second, taking Sandoval's spot in the batting order with Marrero moving to third. Holliday led off with a double and moved to third on the groundout by Castro. Barnes got a huge out by getting Hicks to pop up but Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough. He called upon Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel for the 4 out save. Kimbrel did get Gregorious to whiff...but the ball squirted away from Vazquez and Holliday scored to cut the lead. Kimbrel inexplicably walked the struggling Headley but recovered to blow away Carter on a full count to end the inning. The Sox were only up 5-4.
Green returned briefly in the top of the ninth to get Ramirez to fly out before Chasen Shreve came in to allow a double to JBJ. Vazquez grounded out and Rutledge whiffed to end the inning. Faced with the Yankees best hitters in the bottom of the ninth, Kimbrel blew them away. Gardner whiffed, Sanchez whiffed and Judge struck out in short order to end the game. The Red Sox had held on to win 5-4.
Hero of the Night is Craig Kimbrel. He had to wipe out the Yankees best hitters to preserve his 17th save.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with his 8th homer of the year.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Josh Rutledge struck out in his only appearance.
Deven Marrero was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Robby Scott gave up an earned run in the bottom of the 6th.
Matt Barnes gave up a run in the 8th inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked, scored and drove in a run.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it was his 8th homer of the year.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4.
Drew Pomeranz was about as ugly as it got. He got the win but he threw 123 pitches in just 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, although he struck out 7.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like meaningful baseball against the Yankees, especially when the Sox actually win for a change. It was ugly but the Sox got the job done. Timely hitting was the key on a night Sox manager John Farrell made one stupid decision after another. Pomeranz shouldn't have been allowed to throw over 120 pitches on a cold night, Robby Scott shouldn't have been facing right handers and Kimbrel is throwing way too many pitches early in the season. Still, its not as the Sox are playing with a full deck. Carson Smith, Tyler Thornburg, Robbie Ross Jr and Eduardo Rodriguez are all hurt. Farrell has to work with what he has for now and it was just enough to win tonight. The Yankees aren't going to go away like last year, they are for real with that lineup. The Sox need everyone healthy and focused including the manager if they want to repeat as Division champions. The win moved the Sox to 32-25, 1 game behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Rick Porcello (3-7, 4.24 ERA) looks to get some run support for once against Yankees rejuvinated ace CC Sabbathia. The game begins at 7:10 PM.
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