David Price took the ball in the top of the first and Aaron Hicks grounded out to first to start. Giancarlo Stanton hit a 3-1 meatball into centerfield for a base hit. Didi Gregorius was hit with a pitch but Price froze Gleybar Torres with a backdoor cutter for strike three. Miguel Andujar singled to load the bases but Luke Voit accidentally check swinged a ball back to Price who threw to first for the out to end the inning. Price got lucky Voit was up and not Sanchez or Judge. Tanaka got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts grounded into the shift to begin. Andrew Benintendi doubled off the top of the Monster but Steve Pearce whiffed. JD Martinez whiffed on a 3-2 splitter to end the inning.
Price got Brett Gardner to fly out to the centerfield wall to begin the top of the second before Austin Romine popped up to second. Shane Robinson hit a bullet to center but Betts ran it down to end the inning. Xander Bogaerts took advantage of Gregorius booting a hard grounder to reach first. Mitch Moreland hit a rocket but Gregorius made a great diving stab for the out. Bogaerts was thrown out trying to steal on a blown ball four call. Eduardo Nunez made a kamikaze dive to first when Tanaka failed to cover first and was safe, but knocked the wind out of himself. He gathered himself but Brock "Hitman" Holt lined out to center to end the inning.
Price returned for the top of the third and got Hicks to ground out to short on a full count to begin. Stanton whiffed and Gregorius flied out to the centerfield wall to end the inning. Tanaka continued his dominance in the bottom of the third by blowing away Sandy Leon to start. Mr. Mookie singled past a diving Andujar and Benintendi did as well to put pressure on. Pearce went around on a check swing for strike three and Martinez swung at complete air to end the inning although Tanaka had thrown 57 pitches.
Bogaerts made a great stab at a Torres rocket to open the top of the fourth. Andujar grounded out to short but Voit walked. Gardner was rung up on a borderline strike three to end the inning, another tougher than it should have been inning. Bogaerts tried to get a rally going with a walk to begin the bottom of the fourth but Moreland and Nunez both whiffed. Holt lined out to left to end the inning.
The Yankees tried some small ball after Romine beat out an infield single to start the top of the fifth. Robinson dropped down a bunt to move Romine to second and he moved to third on the Hicks force. Romine was stranded when Stanton grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fifth inning although Leon whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie opened the scoring with his 26th home run of the year to give the Sox the lead. Benintendi looked at strike three but Andujar threw a ground ball by Pearce away. That was it for Tanaka after just 4 2/3 innings as David Robertson entered the game. Martinez whiffed to end the inning but the Sox led 1-0.
Price returned for the top of the sixth and got Gregorius to ground out to second to begin. Torres walked but Price blew away Andujar and Voit to end the inning. For all the criticism against Price, 6 shut-out innings is a step in the right direction. The Sox failed to add to the lead in the bottom of the sixth as Bogaerts flied out to right to begin. Moreland grounded out to first but Nunez beat out an infield single. Holt grounded out to second to end the inning.
Sox manager Alex Cora made a rookie mistake when he sent Price back to the mound in the top of the seventh with over 100 pitches on his arm. Right on cue Gardner singled and Romine walked. Heath Hembree was summoned to the mound but it was too late, the flood gates were opened. Robinson walked to load the bases and Hicks hit a perfect double play ball to Bogaerts. Instead of fielding the ball, Bogaerts dove on it and curled up like it was a grenade for a 2 base error that scored two runs to give the Yankees the lead. Stanton pounded a base hit to score Robinson and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Gregorius whiffed but that was it for the incompetent Hembree. He allowed both inherited runners to score and two of his own in just 1/3 of an inning.
Ryan Brasier came in and got Torres to fly out to center....but Hicks scored to put the game out of reach. Andujar grounded out to short to end the inning but the Yankees led 4-1.
Greg Bird took over at first with Zach Britton on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Leon walked but Mr. Mookie looked at strike three. A passed ball moved Leon to second and he moved to third on a Benintendi grounder. Pearce grounded out to short to end the inning.
Brasier returned for the top of the eighth and Bird whiffed to start. Gardner singled and moved all the way to third on a ground out by Romine. Robinson flied out to right to end the inning. Dellin Betances came in for the bottom of the eighth and hit Martinez to start. Bogaerts and Moreland whiffed and Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Tyler Thornburg came in for the top of the ninth and walked Hicks to begin. Stanton popped up to third and Gregorius flied out to center but Torres walked. Andujar flied out to left to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman took the mound for the Yankees to close out the bottom of the ninth and couldn't find the plate. Holt was rung up on a borderline strike three call but Leon and Mr. Mookie walked. Benintendi took strike three but Pearce walked. Jackie Bradley Jr pinch ran for Pearce and Martinez singled home both Leon and Betts to put the tying run and second. Bogaerts hit a perfect game ending ground ball to Andujar...WHO THREW IT AWAY! JBJ scored and the winning run was at second. Moreland whiffed to end the inning but the Sox tied it 4-4.
Matt Barnes (4-3, 2.25 ERA) got the call for the top of the tenth and the Yankees were deflated. Bird flied out to center, Gardner flied out to left and Romine whiffed to end the inning. Jonathan Holder came in for the bottom of the tenth and struck out Nunez to start. Holt grounded out to second but Leon singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mr. Mookie was intentionally walked and Tony Renda pinch ran for Leon. Benintendi hit a ground ball into the shift....AND THROUGH FOR A BASE HIT! Renda scored and the Red Sox had shocked the Yankees 5-4 to sweep them out of Fenway Park.
Hero of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. His 2 out single drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and a solo home run.
Jackie Bradley Jr pinch ran for Steve Pearce and scored the tying run.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 5.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Tony Renda pinch ran for Leon and scored the winning run.
David Price pitched well until he ran out of gas. Still 6 innings plus with just 2 runs is a huge improvement against the Yankees.
Ryan Brasier tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Tyler Thornburg pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Matt Barnes got the win with a scoreless tenth inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of three strikeouts.
Brock Holt was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Heath Hembree not only coughed up the lead but allowed 2 of his own runs.
The Ugly:
Steve Pearce was 0 for 4 but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but the one hit drove in 2 runs.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a walk and a crucial error.
Final Thoughts:
What a win, what a series and what a sweep. This one had everything from a blowout, two dominating pitching performances and a comeback for the ages. They beat the Yankees in every way possible and it was all entertaining to watch. The Sox now own an 8-5 season series lead and need a few good weeks to lock up the division.The Yankees are reeling right now and the Sox must take advantage of it. The Yankees play a cream puff schedule until SEPTEMBER so they're going to win a ton of games. The Sox need to put the pedal to the medal in order to keep them at a distance. Getting some key pieces back healthy will be the key to winning 100 games and beyond. The win put the Sox at 79-34, 9.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The 1913 Red Sox who suffered a World Series hangover won 79 total games, this year's team has 79 wins on August 5th. The Sox return to action Tuesday night in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Drew Pomeranz (1-5, 6.56 ERA) trudges to the mound against Marcus Stroman at 7:07 PM at the Skydome.
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