Aaron Hicks set the tone when he made a great diving catch to rob Eduardo Nunez of extra bases to open the top of the first inning. Mookie Betts flight out to right and Andrew Benintendi flied out harmlessly to center to end the inning. Sale took the mound in the bottom of the first and Brett Gardner hit a combacker back to the mound. Sandy Leon dropped a pop up by Aaron Hicks but he flied out to right on the very next pitch. The slumping Aaron Judge walked and stole second, but Sale struck out Gary Sanchez to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez looked a strike three and Chris Young grounded out to second, but Xander Bogaerts walked. Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled to right but Sandy Leon whiffed to end the inning. Sale dominated the bottom of the second as Todd Frazier grounded out to third to start. Didi Gregorious flied out to right and Sale blew away Chase Headley to end the inning.
Montgomery dominated the top of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to center while incompetent ESPN analyst flapped her gums about Aaron Judge for 5 minutes. Nunez hit a bullet but right to Gardner and Betts grounded out to end the inning. Sale got Ronald Torreyes to ground out to short to begin the bottom of the third. Austin Romine popped up to right and Gardner froze on strike three to end the inning.
Once again the Sox couldn't crack Montgomery in the top of the fourth inning as Benintendi lined out to right, Ramirez whiffed and Young hit a comebacker to end the inning. Sale began the bottom of the fourth by freezing Hicks with a fastball at the knees for strike three. Judge whiffed badly but Sanchez singled to the base of the left field wall. Frazier popped up to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fifth inning. Bogaerts grounded out but Hitman Holt walked. A wild pitch moved Holt to second but Leon whiffed. JBJ stroked a single up the middle to score Holt to give the Sox the lead. Nunez popped up but it was 1-0 Sox.
The Yankees answered in the bottom of the fifth inning as Gregorious popped up to short but Headley singled to center. Torreyes whiffed and Romine hit a routine fly ball to the wall.....DROPPED BY BETTS! Headley scored and Romine motored around for a credited triple. Gardner whiffed to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Betts popped up to center to begin the top of the sixth inning but Benintendi walked to chase Montgomery. Say what you want, but he gave the Yankees a great start to get to their vaunted bullpen. David Robertson came in and slammed the door although Ramirez walked. Rafael Devers pinch hit for Young and whiffed. Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning. Sale returned for the bottom of the sixth inning and Hicks greeted him with a base hit to right. Sale made Judge silly again with a strikeout and Sanchez swung and missed on a fastball up in his eyes. Hicks swiped second but Frazier was caught looking to end the inning.
Robertson cruised in the top of the seventh inning. Holt looked at strike three, Leon whiffed and JBJ flied out to right to end the inning. Sale came back for one last inning in the bottom of the seventh inning. Gregorious grounded out and Headley whiffed, but Torreyes walked. Sale blew away Romine on a 99 mph fastball to end the inning. Sale had gone 7 innings, giving up just the 1 avoidable run while striking out 12.
Could the Sox crack Dellin Betances in the top of the eighth? Hell no. Nunez whiffed, Betts grounded out to third and Benintendi grounded out to third to end the inning. Matt Barnes came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth and he pissed himself. Gardner grounded out but Hicks walked and Judge singled to right. Sanchez walked to load the bases and Frazier scored Hicks with a sac fly to give the Yankees the lead. That was it for Barnes as Robby Scott came in to strike out Gregorious, but the damage was done. The Yankees had a 2-1 lead and were 3 outs away from taking 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium.
Down to their final 3 outs, the Sox would have to rally against Aroldis Chapman in the top of the ninth inning. Ramirez whiffed but Devers was given a 100 mph fastball inside....AND HE LAUNCHED IT FOR A GAME TYING HOME RUN! Yankee fans went from ready to celebrate to ready to drink bleach and we had a new game. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning but it was now 2-2.
Addison Reed got the call to pitch the bottom of the 9th and he walked Headley to open the inning. Torreyes dropped down a sac bunt to move Headley to second as Jacobby Ellsbury pinch hit for Romine, causing pitching coach Carl Willis to run to the mound and tell Addison something. Reed then threw a slider in the dirt that Leon barely kept in front of him and Sox manager John Farrell sprinted out of the dug-out to get Reed out. Not so fast! Home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth told him to get lost. Major League baseball rules state that once the pitching coach comes out, the pitcher has to complete the at-bat. Farrell either didn't know the rule or forgot and Reed was PISSED. He got Ellsbury to ground out anyway but had a few choice expletives for Farrell on his way out. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in and got Gardner swinging to send the game into extras. Nice going Farrell, you showed up your 8th inning guy and looked like an idiot in the process.
Sanchez remained as the catcher as Chapman returned for the top of the 10th. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Leon but struck out. JBJ was plunked and Nunez walked to chase Chapman amidst a chorus of boos. Tommy Kahnle came in and walked Betts to load the bases. Benintendi then stepped up big with a base hit to right to score JBJ and give the Sox the lead. Ramirez had a chance to ice it but he whiffed to earn the golden sombrero. Devers lined out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Kimbrel came back for the bottom of the 10th to finish off the Yankees. Hicks grounded out to first and Judge whiffed. Sanchez popped up to right to end the game. The Sox had stolen one and taken 2 of 3 from the Yankees with a 3-2 win.
We have Co-Heroes of the Night for tonight's game. Hero number 1 is Rafael Devers for his opposite field, game tying home run in the top of the ninth inning.
The other Co-Hero is Andrew Benintendi for his go-ahead rbi single in the top of the 10th.
The Good:
Brock Holt was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a run scored and an rbi.
Chris Sale was dominant, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 12.
Robby Scott retired the only man he faced.
Addison Reed retired 2 of the 3 men he faced.
Craig Kimbrel earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Chris Young was 0 for 2.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Mitch Moreland struck out as a pinch hitter.
Matt Barnes allowed a go-ahead run in the top of the eighth.
The Ugly:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 but walked.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but walked.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Vazquez caught the bottom of the 10th inning.
Final Thoughts:
This was one of those great wins that STILL have fans bitching and moaning after. The bullpen is a total mess where NOBODY can pitch the eighth inning. It doesn't matter if its Reed, Joe Kelly or Barnes, all of them have pissed down their legs in the past 3 days. John Farrell looked like an idiot with his managerial moves and Mookie Betts dropped a routine catch that could have been fatal. Not even mentioning how they scored only a single run against Jordan Montgomery. Now for the positives, Benintendi and Devers saved the day in the later innings and Sale was once again dominant. Kimbrel did great and Scott got the man he was supposed to. They still won the game, took 2 of 3 from the Yankees in New York and head back home up 5.5 games in the AL East Race. The win improved the Sox to 67-50 and will play a make up game tomorrow night at 6 PM against the Cleveland Indians. Doug Fister (2-5, 5.03) gets the start opposite Trevor Bauer at Fenway Park.
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