IN
As for the game, what the hell was THAT? In one of the strangest games of the season, the Red Sox needed a lot of guts and a little bit of luck to defeat the New York Yankees for the eighth time in 10 games this season. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning against Tanner Houck when the rains came...again. After the delay was over, Houck was gone but the Sox tied the game in the seventh. Things looked bleak in the top of the eighth when the Yankees scored two runs off Adam Ottavino but Kike Hernandez hit a two out, two run double in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. The Yankees took the lead in the top of the tenth but Brooks Kriske threw not one, not two, not three, but four wild pitches to allow the Sox to tie the game in the bottom of the frame. Hunter Renfroe then scored Xander Bogaerts with a sac fly to win the game and knock out the Yankees 5-4 at Fenway Park in 10 innings.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and DJ LeMahieu lined out to right to start. Brett Gardner struck out swinging and Giancarlo Stanton lined out to center to end the inning. Montgomery got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Rafael Devers grounded out to short and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Rougned Odor lined a base hit to right to start the top of the second but Gleyber Torres struck out swinging. Rob Brantly struck out swinging and Greg Allen went down hacking to end the inning. Montgomery cruised in the bottom of the second as JD Martinez struck out swinging to start. Hunter Renfroe lined out to center and Christian Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning.
Estevan Florial grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Tyler Wade struck out swinging. LeMahieu went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Alex Verdugo singled to left to start. Bobby Dalbec flied out to left but Michael Chavis sent Verdugo to third with a base hit to left. Hernandez struck out swinging but a wild pitch moved Chavis to second. Devers walked to load the bases but Bogaerts lined out to short to end the inning.
The Yankees struck first in the top of the fourth as Gardner and Stanton drew back to back walks to start. Odor struck out swinging but a passed ball moved the runners over and Gardner scored on the Torres grounder to short.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez grounded out to third to start. Renfroe struck out swinging and Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning.
All of a sudden a torrential downpour hit Boston as the top of the fifth inning began. Allen took strike three and Florial lined out to second, but Wade beat out a roller to third. The rain became too much and the game was delayed for 2 hours by the rain. When play resumed, Houck was gone after 4 2/3 innings of 1 run ball. Josh Taylor came in and walked LeMahieu but got Gardner to ground out to second to end the inning.
Montgomery returned for the bottom of the fifth and Verdugo grounded out to first to start. Dalbec and Chavis both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Taylor returned for the top of the sixth inning and Stanton grounded out to third to start. Odor struck out swinging but Torres singled in the bhole at second. Torre stole second base but Brantly struck out swinging to end the inning. Hernandez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth before Devers did the same. Bogaerts lashed a base hit to right and that was enough to chase Montgomery. Sal Romano came in to pitch and Martinez greeted him with a base hit to right. Renfroe flied out to right to end the inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Allen grounded back to the mound to start. Florial struck out swinging and Wade took strike three to end the inning. The Sox finally showed some life in the bottom of the seventh against Lucas Luetge as Verdugo beat out an infield single to short. Dalbec singled to right and Chavis hit a grounder to third that ate up Wade to load the bases. Hernandez hit a sac fly to center to score Verdugo and Devers hit one in the hole at short. Dalbec foolishly tried for home and was thrown out to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Just as soon as the Sox tied it, the Yankees took the game over against Adam Ottavino in the top of the eighth. LeMahieu walked to start before swiping second. Gardner walked and Stanton ripped a base hit in front of Hernandez to score LeMahieu to give the Yankees the lead back. Odor dropped down a bunt to move the runners over and Torres hit a sac fly to right to add to the lead. Brantly struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees up 3-1.
Luis Cessa came in to dominate the bottom of the eighth as the Sox beat the ball in the dirt. Bogaerts grounded out to first, Martinez grounded out to third and Renfroe was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.
Yacksel Rios came in to pitch the top of the ninth as Allen popped up to third to start.. Florial walked but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Wade grounded out to first to end the inning. With Aroldis Chapman unavailable, the Yankeed turned to Chad Green to close out the bottom of the ninth. Vazquez took strike three but Verdugo and Dalbec stroked back to back singles. Kevin Plawecki pinch hit for Chavis and Jarren Duran pinch ran for Dalbec, but Plawecki lined out to left. One out away from a loss, Hernandez ripped a double to the left field wall to score both runners to tie the game. Devers flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Wade starting at second base. Wade moved to third on the grounder to the mound by LeMahieu and scored on the Gardner sac fly to Verdugo. Stantom went down swinging to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-3.
With Covid wiping out key members of the Yankees and most of the bullpen already used, Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to rookie Brooks Kriske in the bottom of the tenth with just 9 innings of ML experience under his belt. Devers started at second but a wild pitch moved him to third and another one scored him to tie the game. Bogaerts walked and a wild pitch moved him to second with another wild pitch moving him to third. Martinez struck out swinging but Renfroe cracked a sac fly to right to score Bogaerts with the winning run. The Sox had won it 5-4 in 10 innings.
SOX WIN!
Hernandez the Hero
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Hero of the Night is Kike Hernandez. His two out, two run double in the ninth inning saved the Sox from defeat.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4.
Jarren Duran scored the tying run as a pinch runner in the ninth.
Michael Chavis was 1 for 3.
Tanner Houck held the Yankees to 1 run in 4 2/3 innings while striking out 8 batters.
Josh Taylor tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Darwinzon Hernandez tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Yacksel Rios pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Adam Ottavino allowed 2 runs in the top of the eighth.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but hit the game winning sac fly.
Matt Barnes allowed an unearned run in the top of the tenth to vulture the win.
Final Thoughts:
What a difference two years makes. The Yankees and their fans spent the last two seasons laughing at the Red Sox but now the tables have turned. The Sox are a few key moves at the trade deadline away from going after the AL East crown while the Yankees are teetering on oblivion. In essence, this is a mirror image of 2019 only with the roles reversed. The Yankees went into the season expecting to walk away with the AL East title and instead are drifting on mediocrity. Tonight's game was just another nail in the coffin because the Yankees had the Sox down 3-1 and down to their last out....but without Aroldis Chapman the Yankees coughed up the lead and blew the game in hilarious fashion in the bottom of the tenth. The Sox needed to win this game because, as usual, the Tampa Bay Rays came back in the ninth inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians. The Rays just won't roll over and die this season and its a testament to both teams' ability to come back to win games. The Sox can pretty much turn the Yankees into sellers at the deadline if they can win 2 of the next three games against them. The win improved the Sox to 59-38, 1 game ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.19 ERA) to match Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the second game of this set. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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