As for the game, don't look now but the Boston Red Sox have won four games in a row not just in this recent stretch but against the New York Yankees as well. Tonight it was "War Pig" Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 3.74 ERA) that dominated the Yankees for six innings. The Boston bats stepped up against Yankees starter Carlos Rodon tagging him for four runs. Romy Gonzalez, Marcelo Mayer and Trevor Story all drove in runs to help the cause. Then the Sox bullpen almost blew it. Luis Guerrero was tagged for two runs in the seventh and Greg Weissert got tagged in the ninth for another run. With the tying run at second base, Austin Wells flied out to the centerfield warning track to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3 at Fenway Park.
Dobbins got the ball in the top of the first inning and right off the bat, Kristian Campbell booted a grounder by Trent Grisham for an error. Aaron Judge struck out swinging and Ben Rice grounded into a double play. The Sox wasted no time getting to Rodon in the bottom of the first as Rob Refsnyder doubled to left to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and Romy Gonzalez flied out to right. Carlos Narvaez singled in the whole at short and Anthony Volpe threw the ball away, allowing Refsnyder to score. Jarren Duran popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
"I got it, I got it.....I don't got it"
Paul Goldschmidt took strike three to start the top of the second before Jazz Chisholm got a base hit to left. Volpe walked and Jasson Dominguez flied out to center to move Jazz to third. Austin Wells popped up to third to end the inning. Trevor Story popped up to short to start the bottom of the second before Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third. Marcelo Mayer struck out swinging to end the inning.
DJ LeMahieu grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Grisham struck out swinging. Judge also went down hacking again to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Campbell walked to start. Refsnyder got a base hit to left but Devers banged into a double play. Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning.
Rice grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Goldschmidt flied out to right. Chisholm grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Narvaez doubled to left to start. Duran lined out to left but Story doubled to center to score Narvaez. Rafaela flied out to right and Mayer grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Volpe got a base hit to left to start the top of the fifth but Duran made a great running catch off a Dominguez liner. Wells popped up to third and LeMahieu flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Campbell was hit with a pitch to start. Refsnyder lined out to right but Devers struck out swinging. Gonzalez doubled to center to score Campbell with another run. Narvaez walked but Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Dobbins returned for one final inning in the top of the sixth as Grisham struck out swinging to start. Judge grounded out to third and Rice also grounded out to third to end the inning. Thanks to Mr. "No Third Time Through The Order" Cora, Dobbins went six innings allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 5.
The Sox chased Rodon in the bottom of the sixth when Story doubled to left to start. Yerry De Los Santos came in and Rafaela shockingly dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Trevor over. Mayer hit a sac fly to left to score Story and show that small ball is indeed possible. Campbell grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
The Yankees rallied against Luis Guerrero in the top of the seventh with David Hamilton now playing second. Goldschmidt and Chisholm drew back to back walks before Volpe lined out to short. Dominguez singled up the middle to score Goldschmidt and chase Guerrero. Justin Wilson allowed a base hit to left by Wells to score Chisholm but struck out LeMahieu swinging. The alert Narvaez picked off Dominguez to end the inning with the Yankees down 4-2.
Roman Anthony pinch hit for Refsnyder to start the bottom of the seventh and grounded out to short. Devers flied out to right and Gonzalez took strike three to end the inning.
Wilson returned for the top of the eighth and Grisham lined out to center to start. Judge was rung up for strike three on a check swing and Rice whiffed to end the inning. Narvaez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the eighth but Duran walked. Story grounded into a double play to end the inning.
To give Aroldis Chapman another day off, Cora rolled the dice and brought in Greg Weissert to close out the game. Goldschmidt immediately doubled under the garage door in left and Chisholm grounded out to first to move Paul to third. Volpe grounded out to second to score Goldschmidt and Dominguez also doubled under the garage door in left. With the tying run on second, Wells hit a ball deep to center....caught by a running Rafaela to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.
Hero of The Night is Hunter Dobbins. Facing intense scrutiny from the New York media for last week's comments, Hunter shrugged them off to allow just 2 hits and a walk in 6 shutout innings to earn the win.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Carlos Narvaez was 2 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and picked off another runner.
Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Kristian Campbell walked, was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
The Bad:
Roman Anthony was 0 for 1.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Luis Guerrero got tagged for 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 2 but dropped down a key sacrifice bunt.
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Justin Wilson allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1 2/3 innings.
Greg Weissert got the save but still allowed a run in the ninth.
Honorable Mention:
David Hamilton played second base in the final three innings.
Final Thoughts:
Wow, what's gotten into the Red Sox? Clutch hitting, dropping down bunts, catcher's that can throw out runners, starters than can go past 4 2/3 innings? Maybe Alex Cora took a blow to the head and remembered how to manage. Normally I'd bitch about pulling Dobbins after just 6 innings but he really does have lousy stats the third time through the order. Can't really fault Cora for the bullpen allowing 3 runs because both Chapman and Brennan Bernardino are gassed and Justin Slaten is out with an injury. Still, Justin Wilson got some key outs and Weissert didn't totally puke on himself. The overall story was Dobbins putting the media attack out of his head to dominate the Yankees. That's the kind of balls you don't see every day in the neverending Sox/Yankees rivalry. Speaking of which, the Sox have now won 4 of their last 5 against the Yankees and 6 out of 8 total including the Tampa Bay Rays series. The Sox needed to make a statement and so far they have. A series sweep might be too much to ask for but if they can pull it off, they'll be closer to getting back in contention than they've been in a month. The win improved the Sox to 36-36, 7.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it five wins in a row tomorrow but run smack into 9-1 Yankees ace Max Fried. Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96 ERA) looks to step up big tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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