The Yankees did what they did all series, score first. Brett Gardner led the game off with a double. Drew Pomeranz recovered to strike out both Ronald Torreyes and Gary Sanchez. Billy Butler walked and Didi Gregorious singled home Gardner. Brian McCann hit one to the wall but Chris Young snared it to end the inning but the Sox were already down 1-0. Yankees starter CC Sabbathia cruised in the bottom of the first, getting Dustin Pedroia to pop up behind the plate. Xander Bogaerts whiffed on a high fastball but Mr. Mookie Betts singled to right. Hanley Ramirez continued his hot streak with a single to center that moved Betts to third. Chris Young struck out to end the inning but made Sabbathia throw 22 pitches.
Donovan Solano popped up to begin the top of the second. Mason Williams struck out swinging and Rob Refsnyder grounded out in short order to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the second. Travis Shaw grounded out, Aaron Hill grounded out and Jackie Bradley Jr struck out to end the inning.
Pomeranz ran into more trouble in the top of the third. Gardner and Torreyes grounded out but Sanchez blasted a solo home run completely out of Fenway to make it 2-0. Butler and Gregorius singled but McCann grounded out to end the inning? Could the Sox respond in the bottom of the third? NO! Bryan Holoday somehow singled and Sabbathia made a diving catch off a Pedroia liner, allowing Holoday to go to second. Bogaerts walked and Mr. Mookie beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Ramirez then looked at strike three to end the inning, he'd get another chance.
The Yankees finally knocked Pomeranz out in the top of the fourth. Solano singled and Williams doubled him to third. Refsnyder walked to load the bases.....and those were the 7-8-9 hitters. Pomeranz did get two ground outs, but two more runs scored to make it 4-0. Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough, lifting the incompetent Pomeranz for Heath Hembree. The analysists figure that Pomeranz has hit the proverbial wall since his innings total is double his career high. Sanchez grounded out to end the inning but the Sox were down 4-0. Sabbathia remained tough in the bottom of the fourth. Young struck out and Shaw flied out, but Hill walked. JBJ grounded out to end the inning.
Hembree returned for the top of the fifth. Butler grounded out and Gregorius popped up but McCann doubled. Solano flied out to end the inning. Sabbathia's pitch count rose in the bottom of the fifth. Holoday blasted one to the centerfield wall but a fan reached over and grabbed it, it stood as a double. Pedroia flied out but Bogaerts walked. Mr. Mookie lined out to Sabbathia but he threw the ball away trying to double off Holoday, allowing both runners to advance. At this point Sabbathia had tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings, the Sox were down 4-0 and all looked lost. Not so fast! Hanley Ramirez stepped up and smashed a 3 run bomb into the Monster seats to cut the lead 4-3 just like that. Young grounded out but the Sox were back in it.
Now the Sox needed to keep the Yankees off the scoreboard to come back against their lousy bullpen. Junichi Tazawa was asked to pitch the top of the sixth. Williams grounded out, Refsnyder struck out and Gardner grounded out. Mark Teixeira took over at first base and for whatever reason, Yankees manager Joe Girardi kept Sabbathia on the mound despite being at 100 pitches. The Sox made Girardi pay as Shaw singled and Hill singled him to third. JBJ tied the game with a base hit to right. With Sabbathia on the run, Sox manager John Farrell tried to go for the knockout punch by having David Ortiz pinch hit. It was a dumb move because Holoday had already gotten two hits and Ortiz spent the day in Foxborro watching the New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins. Ortiz himself claims he sucks as a pinch hitter. Girardi countered by bringing in Blake Parker to pitch to David. Ortiz' claim was right as he struck out on three pitches. Hill was erased at third on the force by Pedroia. Both runners moved over but with the go-ahead runner at third...Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Still the Sox had tied it and the Yankees were on the run.
Brad Ziegler got the call in the top of the 7th as Christian Vazquez came in to catch. Torreyes struck out but Sanchez singled. Teixeira lined out as Robby Scott (1-0, 0.00 ERA) came on to pitch to the lefty Gregorius. SWING AND A MISS STRIKE 3, bye bye Didi.
Tyler Clippard got the call for the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh. Mr. Mookie flied out but in stepped Ramirez. SWING AND A DRIVE DEEP TO LEFT AND THAT BALL IS (censored) GONE! Ramirez 28th home run of the year put the Sox up 5-4. Young singled but Shaw and Hill flied out to end the inning. The Sox were 6 outs away from their first four game sweep of New York since 1990. Another year they won the division title.
Scott stayed in to face McCann and he lined out to begin the top of the eighth. Farrell then brought in his flamethrower, Joe Kelly to finish the eighth. Solano grounded out but Williams singled. Refsnyder grounded out to end the inning. Old pal Tommy Layne was brought in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. JBJ struck out, Vazquez grounded out and Pedroia popped up to end the inning.
The Sox turned the clock back to 2013 as they went to Koji Uehara to close out the game. Gardner looked to have a leadoff triple but NOT SO FAST! Mr. Mookie made a great diving catch to keep Gardner off the bases. Austin Romine pinch hit for Torreyes and Uehara got him looking at strike three. Sanchez continued to be a pain in the ass with another single but Teixeira flied out to end the game. BALLGAME OVER, YANKEES SWEPT....THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES SWEPT!
Hero of the Night is easy. Hanley Ramirez almost singlehandedly beat the Yankees with 2 home runs and four rbi's.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts walked twice and scored a run. Aaron Hill was 1 for 3 with a walk. Bryan Holaday was 2 for 2 with a run scored. Heath Hembree tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 6th inning. Brad Ziegler retired 2 of the 3 batters he faced. Robby Scott earned his first win of his career by retiring 2 batters. Joe Kelly retired 2 batters of his own. Koji Uehara turned back the clock to record his 7th save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 5. David Ortiz struck out as a pinch hitter. Christian Vazquez grounded out in his only plate appearance. Drew Pomeranz stunk the joint out again. The Yankees lit him up for 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs in just 3 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts and Chris Young were both 1 for 4. Travis Shaw was just 1 for 4 but scored a run. Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but drove in the tying run.
Final Thoughts:
This game looked to be treated as a throwaway with Pomeranz on the mound and Ortiz taking the day off. Going into the bottom of the fifth, it sure felt that way. The comeback win was just another chapter in this season becoming more and more special as the days go by. The four game sweep pretty much takes the Yankees out of the equation, plus the Toronto Blue Jays lost so they're 4 games back as well. Baltimore won so this was a huge win to keep pace with them. This sweep also pays the Yankees back for the 5 game sweep in August of 2006, only took ten years to avenge that embarrassment. Hanley Ramirez is making a late MVP push and it comes at the right time with Betts and Bogaerts cooled off. The win propels the Sox record to 85-64, a season's best 21 games over .500. They have a 3 game lead over Baltimore for first place in the AL East with 13 to play. The next four games are arguably more important than the previous four. The Sox must head to Baltimore for a crucial 4 game set that may decide the AL East race. Tomorrow night Rick Porcello (20-4, 3.12 ERA) tries to duplicate his last start as he takes on Dylan Bundy in Game 1.
Magic Number: 11
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