It took Mother Nature to do it but the New York Yankees finally defeated the Boston Red Sox in a pretty bizarre game. After it poured in the Bronx all day, the game was delayed until 8:05 PM. Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Cole were locked in a pitcher's duel for 5 innings until Eovaldi left after 5 innings with a monsoon coming in. With the game tied at 1, the umpires let the Sox play long enough to squander a bases loaded chance in the top of the sixth. Not only that but Christian Vazquez was rung up on a horrendous strike three call that got third base coach Will Venable and Kevin Plawecki ejected from the dugout for protesting. With the rain pouring down, only when Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres hit back to back home runs off Hiro Sawamura (4-1, 2.89 ERA) did the umpires finally call the game. Its a shame but Gerrit Cole was credited with a complete game and the Yankees won it 3-1 in 6 rain shortened innings.
Cole got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez greeted him with a double to left. Hernandez moved to third on a fly ball to left by Alex Verdugo but JD Martinez struck out swinging. Rafael Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and DJ LeMahieu flied out to right to start. Giancarlo Stanton took strike three but both Rougned Odor and Gary Sanchez were plunked. Gleyber Torres flied out to right to end the inning.
Tyler Wade took over for Tim Locastro to start the top of the second inning and Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging. Jarren Duran made his ML debut with a base hit to center before moving to second on the grounder to first by Christian Vazquez. Christian Arroyo lined a base hit to left to score Duran to give Boston the lead but Bobby Dalbec grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Eovaldi cruised in the bottom of the second inning as Brett Gardner grounded back to the mound to start. Chris Glittens grounded out to first and Wade struck out swinging to end the inning.
Hernandez flied out to right to start the top of the third inning but Verdugo singled to left. Martinez struck out swinging but Verdugo swiped second base. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. Greg Allen went down hacking to begin the bottom of the third before LeMahieu took strike three. Stanton popped up to short to end the inning.
After a brief rain delay, Renfroe flied out to center to start the top of the fourth before Duran went down jacking. Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. Eovaldi froze Odor for strike three to begin the bottom of the fourth before Sanchez went down hacking. Torres walked but Gardner struck out swinging to end the inning.
Cole cruised in the top of the fifth inning as Arroyo went down hacking to start. Dalbec whiffed badly and Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning. Eovaldi returned for one last inning in the bottom of the fifth as Glittens grounded out to second to start. Wade lined out to second but Allen doubled to center. LeMahieu poked a base hit to left to score Allen to tie the game. Stanton popped up to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1. Eovaldi was strong in his 5 innings, striking out 7 and only allowing a run.
Verdugo took strike three to begin the top of the sixth before Martinez swung and missed at strike three. Devers walked and Renfroe grounded out to....WAIT! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that Renfroe beat the throw out and replays showed he did. Duran walked to load the bases and more rain came. After the delay, Vazquez was rung up for strike three on a bad call to end the inning. Both Kevin Plawecki and 3rd base coach Will Venable charged the umpires and threw roundhouse right hands, both earning ejections.
Hiro Sawamura came in during the monsoon to pitch the bottom of the sixth. Odor struck out swinging but Sanchez clobbered a home run all the way to Osaka, Japan to give the Yankees the lead. Torres followed with a home run to Okinawa and that was it for Sawamura. Josh Taylor came in and Gardner walked before Glttens singled to left. Glittens looked to have beat out a force at second by Wade but Cora challenged that too. Once again replays showed Glittens was out and now there were runners at the corners. Allen struck out swinging and convieniently now that the Yankees had the lead, the umpires put the game in yet another rain delay. This time the umpires called it and the Yankees were declared the winners. A cheap win by the Yankees as they won it 3-1.
Jackass of the Night is Hiro Sawamura. He allowed back to back home runs before the game was called.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with a stolen base.
Hunter Renfroe was 1 for 3.
Jarren Duran was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored in his ML debut.
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Nathan Eovaldi tossed 5 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 7 batters.
Josh Taylor got the final two outs of the sixth inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was the cheapest of cheap wins by the Yankees but its not like the Sox haven't benefitted from rain shortened games themselves. Cole was going to be tough to crack if the game kept going but it was only a two run game. The Yankees have been giving up leads all season so it wouldn't be out of the question for a comeback. Eovaldi pitched good and its a shame the ruined his start or else they wouldn't have had to go to Sawamura in the pouring rain. Still, the Yankees got the home runs they needed to win the game so no sense squawking about it too much. The good news is Duran looked good in his first game and the Atlanta Braves whalloped the Tampa Bay Rays so the standings stayed the same. The Sox are in a stretch of games against the AL East and they need to make their statement if they want to put some distance between themselves and the Rays. The loss dropped the Sox to 56-37, 1.5 games in front of the Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night its the god awful, Yankee supporting ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and Martin Perez (7-5) looks to shove it up Matt Vasgersian's bunghole but Matt will be in full support of Yankee starter Jameson Taillon. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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