Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Josh Taylor was placed on the Injured List with a lower back strain. This is not what the Sox needed with them stumbling toward the playoffs. The other relievers are going to have to step up with only a handful of games left.
As for the game, what an unmitigated disaster this weekend was. The Red Sox could have eliminated the New York Yankees from playoff competition by sweeping or taking two of three. Instead they're the ones looking up from the bottom after getting swept by the Yankees. For the second straight game the Sox blew a winnable game in the top of the eighth. The Yankees had taken a 2-1 lead on Eduardo Rodriguez and the Sox when the Yankees stumbled and bumbled to allow 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then Garrett Richards (7-8, 4.65 ERA) got rocked and Adam Ottavino got rolled as the Yankees scored four runs in the top of the eighth. Aroldis Chapman slammed the door and the Yankees had jumped in front of the Sox in the standings 6-3 at Fenway Park.
Rodriguez got the ball in the top of the first inning and DJ LeMahieu got a base hit to center to start. Anthony Rizzo grounded into a double play and Aaron Judge struck out swinging to end the inning. Jordan Montgomery got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Kike Hernandez got a base hit to center. Hunter Renfroe flied out to right, Rafael Devers flied out to left and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Joey Gallo popped up to second. Gleyber Torres popped up to first to end the inning. JD Martinez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging. Christian Arroyo singled in the hole at second but Alex Verdugo lined out to right to end the inning.
Gary Sanchez took strike three to start the top of the third before Brett Gardner was also frozen for strike three. Gio Urshela got a base hit to center and LeMahieu was also caught looking to end the inning. Christian Vazquez lined out to left to start the bottom of the third before Hernandez grounded out to short. Renfroe grounded out to third to end the inning.
Rizzo grounded out to second to open the top of the fourth before Judge struck out swinging. Stanton singled in the hole at second but Gallo struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Devers ripped a base hit to left to start. Devers swiped second and Bogaerts also got a base hit to left to put runners at the corners. Martinez hit a sac fly to left to score Devers to put the Sox on top. Dalbec struck out swinging and Arroyo grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
All of a sudden Rodriguez lost it in the top of the fifth as Torres walked to start. Sanchez got a base hit to left and Gardner singled to center to load the bases. Urshela banged into a double play but Torres scored to tie the game. LeMahieu got a base hit to right to score Sanchez to put the Yankees on top. Rizzo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees up 2-1. That was it for Rodriguez despite throwing 81 pitches because Alex Cora once again quick hooks someone. He allowed 2 runs in 5 innings on 6 hits and a walk.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo singled to left to start. Vazquez grounded into a double play but Hernandez got a base hit to left. Renfroe singled to center but Devers flied out to right to end the inning.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the top of the sixth inning and Judge lined out to left to start. Stanton struck out swinging and Gallo grounded out to first to end the inning. Clay Holmes came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Martinez and Dalbec also went down hacking to end the inning.
Garrett Richards came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Torres grounded out to second to start. Sanchez struck out swinging and Gardner flied out to left to end the inning. Travis Shaw was going to pinch hit for Arroyo but Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Joely Rodriguez to pitch. Sox manager Alex Cora pulled back Shaw in favor of Jose Iglesias. Iglesias got a base hit to left to start and Verdugo beat out a bunt down to second. A wild pitch moved both runners over and Vazquez hit a sac fly to score Iglesias to tie the game. Chad Green came in to pitch to Hernandez and Kike took strike three. Kyle Schwarber pinch hit for Renfroe and LeMahieu dropped a pop up from Kyle for an error to continue the inning. Schwarber then popped up to Gallo....who dropped it for an error. Verdugo scored but Schwarber was thrown out at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Yerrrrrr out
Things fell apart in the top of the eighth as Urshela walked to start. Tyler Wade pinch ran for Urshela and ended up getting thrown out at second trying to steal. LeMahieu walked and Rizzo doubled to right to chase Richards. Adam Ottavino poured gas on the fire as Judge doubled to center to score both runners and Stanton hit a home run all the way to Neptune to ice the game just like that. Gallo was hit with a pitch and that was it for Ottavino. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch and Torres lined out to right. Sanchez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Yankees up for good 6-3.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the eighth as Devers pounded a ground rule double down the right field line to start. Bogaerts flied out to right but Martinez lashed a base hit to left to put runners at the corners. Dalbec struck out swinging and Iglesias lined out to second to end the inning.
Gardner grounded out to short to start the top of the ninth before Wade got a base hit to right. Wade was once again thrown out at second trying to steal and LeMahieu grounded out to second to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Verdugo popped up to short to start. Vazquez grounded out to second but Hernandez walked. Kike took second and third on defensive indifference but Schwarber took strike three to end the game. The Yankees completed the sweep with a 6-3 win.
Jackass of The Night is Adam Ottavino. He allowed 2 inherited runners to score and 2 of his own to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Hunter Renfroe was 1 for 3.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
JD Martinez was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 2.
Jose Iglesias was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed just 2 runs in 5 innings. He gave up six hits and a walk while striking out eight.
Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Ryan Brasier tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with the golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
Garrett Richards took the loss by allowing 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with an rbi.
Honorable Mention:
Travis Shaw "pinch hit" in the bottom of the seventh
Final Thoughts:
That was totally embarrassing and another microcosm of the season. Alex Cora panicked and pulled Rodriguez after five innings only for the bullpen to blow it. The bullpen is out of gas after being overused all season but Cora keeps sticking to the "no third time through the order, pull the guy at first sign of trouble" mantra. If the Sox don't make the playoffs next week you can blame Cora for it. Ottavino and the A-Team were almost automatic in April, May and June but now he's toast. Why he put Garrett Richards in a big spot is another head scratcher and the Yankees practically laughed at them. The Sox went into this series looking to put the Yankees away and instead they might have just launched them into the playoffs. There's still four games left in the season but this was a huge opportunity lost. The loss dropped the Sox to 88-68, 1 game behind the Yankees for the first wild card. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to Baltimore to face the hapless, 106 loss Orioles. If the Sox can't beat THEM then they have no business playing in October. The first game begins Tuesday night with Chris Sale (5-0) going for the Sox against Bruce Zimmermann of Baltimore at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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