Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first and DJ LeMahieu singled to cetner to start. Aaron Judge banged into a double play but Gary Sanchez singled to right. Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging to end the inning. Montgomery got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Michael Chavis grounded out to short to start. Alex Verdugo grounded back to the mound and JD Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Yankees beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the second inning as Luke Voit grounded out to short to start. Gio Urshela grounded out to short and Gleyber Torres grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts lined one off Montgomery for a base hit to start. Rafael Devers walked and Hunter Renfroe lashed a base hit past Montgomery to load the bases. Kike Hernandez scored Bogaerts with a sac fly to put the Sox on top. Devers went to third on the play and he scored on the Bobby Dalbec sac fly to increase the lead. Connor Wong got his first MLB at-bat and lined a base hit to right to move Renfroe to third. Chavis grounded into a force to end the inning but the Sox led 2-0.
Eovaldi cruised in the top of the third inning as Miguel Andujar grounded out to short to start. Brett Gardner took strike three and LeMahieu grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the third as Verdugo grounded out to first to start. Martinez grounded out to third but Bogaerts doubled to right. Devers grounded out to short to end the.....WAIT! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call and sure enough, Devers was ruled safe and the inning continued. Renfroe beat out a roller to second to score Bogaerts with another run and Hernandez walked to load the bases. With a chance to break the game open...Dalbec flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Judge got a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth but Sanchez hit one up the elevator shaft. Stanton struck out swinging and Voit grounded out to third to end the inning. Montgomery settled down in the bottom of the fourth as Wong struck out swinging to start. Chavis went down hacking and Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning.
Eovaldi cruised in the top of the fifth as Urshela lined out to left to begin. Torres flied out to center and Andjuhar also flied out to center to end the inning. Martinez lined out to second to start the bottom of the fifth but Bogaerts got a single to left. Devers hit into a double play to end the inning.
The Yankees mounted their first threat all night in the top of the sixth as Gardner struck out swinging to start. LeMahieu and Judge ripped back to back singles but Sanchez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Renfroe tried to start a rally in the bottom of the sixth with a single in the hole at second but Hernandez took strike three. Dalbec banged into a double play to end the inning.
Stanton singled to right to start the top of the seventh before Voit struck out swinging. Urshela forced Stanton at second and Hernandez made a great catch to rob Torres of extra bases to end the inning. Albert Abreu came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Chavis blooped a single to center to start. Verdugo went down hacking but Martinez doubled off the glove of a diving Judge. Bogaerts hit a sac fly to score Chavis but Andujar ran down a Devers liner to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Eovaldi looked like he'd go all the way when he got Andujar swinging to start the top of the eighth. Gardner grounded out to second but LeMahieu hit a home run all the way to Fortuna, California to break up the shutout. Alex Cora bounded out of the dugout and immediately pulled Eovaldi just like Pivetta against Tampa. Cora summoned the A-Team but they didn't have it tonight. Hiro Sawamura walked Judge, Sanchez and Stanton in succession to load the bases with nobody out. Adam Ottavino came in with Tyler Wade pinch running for Stanton. Voit grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the eighth as Renfroe grounded out to second to start. Hernandez flied out to left and Dalbec grounded out to first to end the inning.
Things got hairy in the top of the ninth when Ottavino returned to close out the game. Urshela flied out to center but Torres singled to right. Rougned Odor pinch hit for Andjuhar and forced Torres at second. Gardner walked and LeMahieu singled home Odor to cut the lead in half. With the most dangerous hitter at the plate....Ottavino struck out Judge swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.
Hero of the Night is Nathan Eovaldi. He spun a beauty, allowing just 1 run in 7 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 3 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Hunter Renfroe was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 2 with a walk and an rbi.
Connor Wong was 1 for 3.
The Bad:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Hiro Sawamura walked all three men he faced.
The Ugly:
Michael Chavis was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Adam Ottavino earned the save but allowed a run in 1 1.3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
Remember how Yankee fans were bragging how much they "owned" the Red Sox going back the last two seasons? The jokes on them because the Sox are a perfect 5-0 against the Yankees so far this season. The Yankees are truly a home run or nothing team and the pitching can't bail them out every game. Still, the Sox didn't exactly light up Montgomery or Abreu but they did just enough to get the win. Eovaldi was damn good and the Sox needed a start like that after the horrible starts the Sox have gotten lately. Its too bad Cora went to the well too many times as Sawamura and Ottavino struggled. Josh Taylor and Brandon Workman are perfectly capable of coming in and preserving a 3 run lead. Cora needs to learn how to trust the B-Team of Taylor, Workman and Hernandez in big time situations on days after the A-Team work. Renfroe has caught fire and Verdugo & Devers have slumped so badly that they're all within the same batting average which shouldn't be happening. Verdugo and Devers are too good to be hitting in the .270's and Renfroe is on a Tom Brunansky hot streak. Hopefully Verdugo and Devers pick up the pace soon because the Sox are still a half game behind the Tampa Bay Rays who slaughtered the Los Angeles Angels earlier this afternoon. The win improved the Sox to 46-31, 1/2 game behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look for a series sweep tomorrow afternoon but it'll take a miracle. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole takes on the human batting practice known as Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 6.07 ERA) tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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