David Price took the mound to start the top of the first inning. Brett Gardner grounded meekly to second and Jacoby Ellsbury lined out softly to third. Gary Sanchez popped up to first to end the inning. Bryan Mitchell took the ball to start the bottom of the first for the Yankees and Dustin Pedroia nearly wrapped one around the Pesky Pole. Pedroia flied out and Xander Bogaerts hit one out of Fenway....foul. Bogaerts popped up and David Ortiz whiffed to end the inning.
Price whiffed Starling Castro to open the top of the second but Billy Butler singled. Didi Gregorious flied out to left and Chase Headley flied out to end the inning. The Yankees then made a boo-boo to open the bottom of the second. Shortstop Didi Gregorious wandered out to left to field a pop up from Mr. Mookie Betts and conceded to left field...only he didn't tell Gardner and the ball dropped in between. Hanley Ramirez beat out an infield single but Travis Shaw popped up. Sandy Leon popped up and Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed to end the inning.
After the Sox squandered a 2 on, no out situation, right on cue the Yankees rallied. Austin Romine singled but Rob Refsynder struck out. Gardner then tripled home Romine to make it 1-0 Yankees as the boo-birds rained down. Ellsbury grounded to first but Sanchez crushed a 2 run bomb totally out of Fenway to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead Castro flied out but the damage was done. The Sox then tried to fight back in the bottom of the third. Andrew Benintendi got a lucky double and moved to third on the fly out by Pedroia. Somehow Bogaerts doubled home Benintendi to cut the lead 3-1. A passed ball on Romine moved Bogaerts to third. Ortiz grounded out but it scored Bogaerts to cut the lead 3-2. Mr. Mookie grounded out to continue his miserable September and the Yankees still led 3-2 to end the inning.
The Yankees promptly put the game out of reach in the top of the fourth. Gregorious struck out but Butler and Headley singled. A wall ball double by Romine scored both runners to make it 5-2, advancing to third on the bad throw by Benintendi. Refsnyder struck out and Gardner flied out but the game was all but over. The Sox weren't going to rally this time. Ramirez grounded out, Shaw whiffed and Leon flied out to end the inning.
Price returned for the top of the fifth and almost gave up another run. Ellsbury grounded out and Sanchez struck out, but Castro doubled. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Castro pulled something and had to leave the game. Ronald Torreyes pinch ran for Castro but Butler grounded out to end the inning. Torreyes moved to second base as Mark Teixeira moved to first to begin the bottom of the fifth. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fifth. JBJ walked but Benintendi popped up. Pedroia popped up but Bogaerts stepped up to blast a 2 run bomb to left to cut the lead 5-4. How big was that Romine double now? That was it for Mitchell as Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled him in favor of struggling rookie Luis Severino.Ortiz walked to put the tying run at first but Mr. Mookie lined out to end the inning. If Price could keep the Yankees off the scoreboard, the Sox had a chance to tie it.
Price did his job in the top of the sixth although Gregorious singled to lead off. Headley flied out, Romine looked at strike 3 and so did Refsnyder to end the inning. Pitching after the loss of a best friend is tough to do, but Price survived to pitch 6 innings even if he left trailing 5-4. Mason Williams took over in right field and Ramirez put the tying run at second with a sizzling double. Unfortunately he was stranded when Shaw popped up. Leon then tried to catch the Yankees asleep with a drag bunt but he hit it too hard, getting thrown out at first. JBJ did manage to walk to put the go-ahead run at first. Benintendi walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Pedroia worked the count full but looked at strike 3 on the corner to end the inning. It was almost the same pitch thrown to Benintendi which was called a ball.
The Sox held the Yankees offense in check in the top of the seventh. Robbie Ross Jr walked Gardner but Ellsbury lined to Shaw. Sox manager John Farrell pulled Ross in favor of Matt Barnes to pitch to Sanchez. Leon gunned down Gardner trying to steal. Barnes then tossed strike 3 to end the inning. Severino returned for the bottom of the seventh and Xander Bogaerts benefitted from Ellsbury crashing into the bullpen wall to lead off with a double. Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled Severino for lefty Tommy Layne to pitch to Ortiz. Ortiz was retired but it was on a fly out that moved Bogaerts to third. That was it for Layne as Girardi pulled him for Adam Warren to pitch to Mookie Betts. Mr. Mookie delivered as he hit a chopper over the head of Gregorious with the infield in to score Bogaerts, tying the game. The red hot Ramirez singled to left to put the go-ahead run at second. Shaw grounded out to first but both runners moved over. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away a bizzare play ended the inning. A wild pitch scored Betts but Ramirez also tried his luck but was thrown out at home. The rally was over but the Sox had taken the lead 6-5 and Leon didn't have to do anything.
With 6 outs to go, could the Sox hold on in the top of the 8th? YES! Barnes returned and got Torreyes to ground out to third then Teixeira to ground into the shift, but Gregorius walked. John Farrell made the peculiar move to bring in closer Craig Kimbrel rather than Brad Ziegler or Koji Uehara. Kimbrel struck out Headley to end the inning. Tyler Austin replaced Ellsbury but played left as Gardner moved to center. Leon whiffed badly to begin the bottom of the eighth, he didn't just crash to earth, he went down in flames. JBJ stroked a single to right but Benintendi was robbed at the wall. 10 feet higher and it was gone. Pedroia grounded out to end the inning.
Could Kimbrel finish the game off in the top of the ninth? The Yankees hadn't lost 4 straight since July. Kimbrel blew away Romine on a 3-2 fastball to begin the inning. Williams looked at strike 3 that wasn't really strike 3 but oh well. Garder then looked at strike 3 to end the game. The Sox had pulled another one out of their ass to win 6-5
Hero of the night is Xander Bogaerts. He broke out of his slump big time by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, 3 rbi's and his 20th homer of the year, a 2 run shot.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a run scored and rbi. Hanley Ramirez continued his torrid September by going 3 for 4. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 2 with two walks and a run scored. Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Robbie Ross Jr retired one of the two men he faced. Matt Barnes pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Craig Kimbrel earned his 27th save of the year by striking out all four men he faced.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia had his first really bad game in a while by going 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Travis Shaw and Sandy Leon were both 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run. David Price normally would get a "Bad" listing for his start but under the circumstances, he gets a pass. Pitching just hours after learning his best friend died, Price surrendered 5 runs in 6 innings off 9 hits. He did manage to strike out 7 though.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox needed to win this series and they did just that. They did it in come from behind fashion and they did it in conventional fashion. For two years the Yankee fans laughed at the Red Sox for finishing in last place, well this series will have the Yankees in fourth place right where they belong. Now its the Sox turn to do the laughing. Price was not himself but at least it was explained why. The bullpen was once again lights out and the Sox finally won a one run game after losing 7 in a row. The win improved the Sox to 84-64 with 14 games left to play. The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles both lost so the Sox have a 3 game lead in the AL East race on both of them. Tomorrow the Yankees have the advantage as Drew Pomeranz takes the mound against CC Sabbathia. A sweep would be asking for too much, but its remotely possible.
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