Things started sour right off the bat as Aaron Hicks began the top of the first with a routine grounder to Brock "The Hitman" Holt. Holt dove on the ball and wrestled with it for an error. Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius compounded the error by pounding a 3 run bomb to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead 3 batters into the game. Johnson recovered to whiff Gleybar Torres and get Miguel Andujar to pop up to short but Greg Bird singled. Luke Voit lined out to right to end the inning with the Yankees up 3-0.
CC Sabathia was clearly impacted by the weather as he walked Mr. Mookie Betts to begin the bottom of the first. Andrew Benintendi lined out to left but Mr. Mookie swiped second. Steve Pearce flied out to center and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Yankees struck again in the top of the second inning. Austin Romine and Brett Gardner both struck out but Aaron Hicks hit a 590,000 foot home run to increase the lead. Stanton whiffed to end the inning but it was 4-0 New York.
The Sox finally struck back against a struggling CC in the bottom of the second. Ian Kinsler singled to left and Eduardo Nunez beat out an infield single. Blake Swihart whiffed but Holt walked to load the bases. Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed but Mr. Mookie drew a walk to put the Sox on the board. Benintendi flied out to left to end the inning but it was 4-1 Yankees. Sabathia was wilting in the heat and it showed.
Johnson finally settled down in the top of the third as Gregorius was rung up to begin the frame. Torres walked but Andujar lined out to short. Bird whiffed to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third when Pearce hit a moonshot over the Monster to cut the lead in half. Martinez walked but Kinsler flied out to right. Martinez swiped second but was thrown out on a ground ball hit by Nunez. Swihart hit a roller back to Sabathia who threw it so far over first that birds had to fly out of the way to put runners at second and third. Holt flied out to right to end the inning but it was 4-2 Yankees.
Johnson battled in the top of the fourth as Voit popped up to second to start. Romine doubled but Gardner was rung up for strike three. Hicks drew a walk but Stanton was also rung up to end the inning. That was it for Sabathia as he was lifted after 87 pitches and Nick Holder was brought in. The Sox unleashed the seventh circle of hell as JBJ drew a walk to begin the onslaught. Mr. Mookie doubled him to third and he scored on a hustle play to third by JBJ on a ground ball by Benintendi. Pearce then smashed a 3 run bomb to give the Sox the lead. Martinez doubled and Kinsler singled him home. Kinsler swiped second and Nunez doubled him home to chase the incompetent Holder. Chad Green came in and Swihart whiffed. Holt lined out to right but JBJ doubled home Nunez and Mr. Mookie singled JBJ to third. Benintendi singled home JBJ to chase Green. Luis Cessa took the mound and got Pearce to ground out to end the inning. The Sox had scored 8 runs on 8 hits, a walk, a fielder's choice and 2 steals to lead 10-4.
Johnson got pissed off in the top of the fifth after he allowed Gregorius to swat another 900 foot home run by striking out the side. Torres whiffed, Andujar was caught looking and Bird whiffed to end Johnson's day after 5 innings and a 10-5 lead. He had a very weird outing as he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in just 5 innings but struck out 11,
The Sox got one off Cessa too as Martinez doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. A wild pitch moved him to third and Kinsler doubled him home. Nunez popped up to second and Swihart popped up to third. Holt grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 11-5.
Brandon Workman took over on the mound for the top of the sixth with Sandy Leon now behind the plate due to Swihart tearing a groin and having to be rolled onto an ambulance via a wheelbarrow. Voit grounded out to short, Romine whiffed and Gardner grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox had another rally in store for the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth although JBJ whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie singled and Benintendi doubled him home. Pearce then blasted his third home run of the night as Fenway rocked and rolled. A career night for Pearce for sure. Martinez flied out to center as did Kinsler to end the inning with the Sox ahead 14-5.
Workman returned for the top of the seventh and got Hicks to line out to second but Stanton refused to go quietly and he launched a 40,000 foot bomb halfway to Everett to cut the lead. Gregorius grounded out to first and Torres grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 14-6 Sox.
The Sox finally went quietly in the bottom of the seventh as Nunez grounded out to second, Leon popped up to short and Holt grounded out to second to end the inning,
Joe "Machine Gun" Kelly was brought in for the top of the eighth and he responded. Andujar lined out to left, Bird flied out to left and Voit lined out to right to end the inning. The Sox had one last rally in the bottom of the eighth and JBJ grounded out to second to begin. Mr. Mookie and Benintendi stroked back to back singles before Pearce walked to load the bases and chase Cessa. Zach Britton was brought in and Martinez beat out an infield single to score Betts with another run. Unfortunately Kinsler lined into a double play when Gregorius doubled off Pearce to end the inning with the Sox ahead 15-6.
Ryan Brasier had mop up duty in the top of the ninth but the Yankees didn't go quietly. Romine whiffed to start but Gardner tripled. Hicks walked and took second on defensive indifference when Stanton scored Gardner with a sac fly. Gregorius grounded out to short to end the inning and the game. The Sox struck first in this four game set with a 15-7 beat down of the Yankees.
Hero of the Night is unquestionably Steve Pearce. He belted three home runs, drove in 6 runs by himself and walked.
The Good:
Mookie Betts broke out of his slump by going 4 for 4 with 2 walks, 3 runs scored, a stolen base and an rbi.
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 6 with 3 rbis, a stolen base and 3 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 3 for 5 with an rbi, a walk, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Ian Kinsler was 3 for 6 with 2 rbi's, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Blake Swihart was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 1 after coming in for Swihart.
Brock Holt was 0 for 4 with an error but walked.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked, drove in a run and scored twice.
Brian Johnson got the win but allowed 5 runs in 5 innings (4 earned) although he struck out 11.
Brandon Workman gave up a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
If Brian Cashman lit a fire under the Red Sox, the Yankees are in trouble. With Sabathia's success against the Sox the last few years and Brian Johnson filling in for Chris Sale, this game looked to be advantage Yankees. Instead the Sox smacked them around and now its up to the struggling Luis Severino to stem the tide or else the Yankees are in trouble going into Saturday with no scheduled starter at the moment. The Sox have been miserable offensively since the All-Star break but tonight they righted the ship big time in a game they needed to have. The Sox can send a message to the Yankees by taking at least 3 out of 4 in the series and they got one of those wins tonight. It was nice to see the offense bust out but allowing 7 runs isn't going to cut it with Severino on the mound tomorrow. Even with the Yankees missing Aaron Judge due to injury, they're still a dangerous lineup and they need to be slowed down in order to beat them. The win improved the Sox to 76-34, 6.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The 1963 Red Sox with Carl Yastrzemski, Dick Stuart, Dick Radatz and not much else finished with 76 wins, the 2018 Red Sox have 76 wins in August 2nd. Tomorrow night is now the biggest game of the series with Luis Severino matched up against "Slick" Rick Porcello (13-4, 4.03 ERA). The Sox either have momentum going into Saturday or the Yankees retake the season series lead. It all goes down at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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