As for the game, the Boston Red Sox sent a message that the AL East still goes through Boston after the Sox wiped out the New York Yankees 5-1 today behind the solid pitching of Rick Porcello (8-14, 4.48 ERA) and some timely hitting against Yankee starter Sonny Gray and the leaky NY bullpen. The Sox had taken the game, 2 out of 3 at Fenway and 4 of 6 since last week.
Porcello got the ball in the top of the first inning and cruised. Brett Gardner grounded out to first to start and Aaron Hicks struck out on an unhittable curveball. Aaron Judge flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox made Gray work in the bottom of the first but accomplished nothing. Brock "The Hitman" Holt grounded out to third and Mookie Betts grounded out to second, but Andrew Benintendi singled to left. Hanley Ramirez flied out to right to end the inning.
Porcello ran into trouble in the top of the second although Didi Gregorious lined out to short to start. Gary Sanchez grounded out to third but Chase Headley doubled. Porcello got squeezed on a ball four call to Todd Frazier but froze Tyler Austin for strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers flied out to deep center to start. Xander Bogaerts blooped a single to right but Hicks made a great diving catch to rob Mitch Moreland of a base hit. Sandy Leon blooped a single to left and Jackie Bradley Jr cleared the bases with a triple into center. Holt then grounded out to first on a 3-1 count to end the inning, but the Sox had a 2-0 lead.
Could Porcello pitch with the lead? Ronald Torreyes lined out softly to short but Gardner hit a seeing eye single through the hole in short. Gardner was immediately picked off.....oh wait, Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged the call and sure enough, he was safe. The Sox got one half of a strike em out, throw em out as Gardner swiped second but Hicks was called out on strikes. Porcello then threw 2 pitches right on the outside corner on a 0-2 count to Judge, both called balls. Judge finally grounded out to second to end the inning but Porcello lost about 20 pounds by getting squeezed so much. The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the third as Betts grounded out to short trying to pull a pitch to start. Benintendi worked a 10 pitch at bat only to fly out harmlessly to left. Ramirez also put up an 8 pitch at bat but doubled off the Monster. Devers drew a 4 pitch walk but then made the astronomically stupid decision to take off for second....with Ramirez standing there and he was picked off first to end the inning. Just like with Holt last night, Devers mistake cost them dearly with Gray on the ropes. Gray had thrown 69 pitches but that was a huge chance wasted.
As usual once the Sox made a mistake, the Yankees made them pay in the top of the fourth inning. Gregorious flied out to left but Sanchez and Headley worked back to back walks. Frazier popped up to first and Austin struck out but Porcello was up to 80 pitches. The Yankees didn't score here but laid the groundwork for the future. Porcello wasn't effective but Gray was in the bottom of the fourth. Bogaerts grounded out to third and Moreland grounded out to short but Leon drew a walk. JBJ grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Yankees finally got to Porcello in the top of the fifth inning although Torreyes grounded out to short to start. Gardner then hit his typical 300 foot home run around the Pesky Pole to cut the lead. Hicks grounded out to first and Judge popped to first to end the inning. The Yankees had Porcello up to 94 pitches through 5 innings but the Sox still led 2-1.
The score remained 2-1 after the bottom of the 5th inning although Holt got a lucky single to right to start. Betts popped up on a 3-2 count but Benintendi somehow singled to left. Hicks then completely faked out Holt at second by jumping to make a catch on a bullet by Ramirez. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox had probably finished off Gray but only had 2 runs to show for it.
Porcello somehow made it through the top of the sixth as Gregorious lined right to a running JBJ to start. Sanchez popped up to left on the first pitch and Headley grounded into the shift to end the inning. Porcello had gone 6 innings and only gave up 1 run, on any other day that would be good enough for the win.
Gray was gone and Adam Warren was in for the bottom of the sixth and the Sox added an insurance run. Hicks made another running catch to rob Bogaerts of a hit, but Moreland singled to left. A wild pitch moved Moreland to second and he moved to third on the Leon ground out. JBJ stepped up with a base hit to score Leon. That was it for Warren as the much maligned Aroldis Chapman came in to strike out Holt to end the inning, although the Sox were now up 3-1.
The Sox needed that insurance run as Brandon Workman took over for the top of the seventh. He did manage to get Frazier to pop out to start. Austin lined out to center and Torreyes grounded to short to end the inning. Good job Workman. Chapman returned for the bottom of the seventh and Betts worked a leadoff walk. A wild pitch moved Betts to second and he moved to third on the Benintendi fly out to right. He was stranded as Ramirez hit a weak pop up to shallow center and Devers struck out to end the inning.
The failed attempt to get the fourth run didn't seem to matter as Addison Reed took the mound in the top of the eighth inning. Gardner was out on a bang bang play at first after a diving stop by Holt. Hicks flied out to Betts and Judge whiffed to end the inning. The Sox were 3 outs away from going up 5 games with 39 remaining. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the eighth as new pitcher Tommy Kahnle walked Bogaerts on 4 straight pitches to start. Moreland doubled off the top of the Monster and Leon doubled into the corner to score the two runners. That was it for Kahnle as Caleb Smith came in to walk JBJ. Holt singled and the Sox had the bases loaded and nobody out but once again turned completely inept. Betts ran away screaming from strike three, Benintendi flied out to left, and Ramirez tried to kill a fastball over the Monster....but grounded out to Smith to end the inning. Another bases loaded, nobody out waste....but it was still 5-1.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in to close out the game even though they had a 4 run lead and a 4 game set with Cleveland approaching. Gregorious popped up to second and Craig blew away Sanchez on a 99 mph high fastball. Kimbel blew away Headley to end the game. The Sox had taken the series and this game 5-1.
Hero of the Night is Rick Porcello. He tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball to earn his 8th win of the season.
The Good:
Brock Holt was 2 for 5.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 5.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 3 with a walk and 3 rbis.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
None...a miracle.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but walked.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 5.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That's how you send a message to the AL East that the road goes through you. Yankee fans were dancing in the streets after the Yankees traded for Frazier, David Robertson, Kahnle and Gray at the deadline demanding not only the AL East title but the pennant as well. 3 weeks later the wrong team got hot as the Red Sox shed Dustin Pedroia and David Price, added Eduardo Nunez, Rafael Devers and Addison Reed, then took off. The Yankees have gone 10-10 since the trade deadline while the Sox have gone 13-3. One thing is for sure, the Red Sox are not afraid of the Yankees this year anymore. Up until the rally against Chapman last week the Sox were totally dominated in 6 of the 9 games they played. By taking 4 of 6 the past week, it shows they can hang with them. Tomorrow night the Sox begin a crucial 4 game set in Cleveland against the Indians. Not so much crucial for the AL East standings but if they can't catch Houston for the AL's best record, the Indians will be their first round opponent. Just to show they can hang with Cleveland, it would be nice to take 3 of 4. Tomorrow night Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 3.97 ERA) goes for the Sox against Mike Clevinger in Game 1 at Jacobs Field at 7:10 PM.
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