Eduardo Rodriguez got the ball to start the game and the Yankees immediately pounded him. Brett Gardner popped up but Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Gary Sanchez hit a ground rule double to move Jacoby to third and Starling Castro singled home Ellsbury to make it 1-0 real quick. Billy Butler then scored Sanchez with a sac fly. Didi Gregorious flied out to end the inning with the Yankees up 2-0 early. Mashiro Tanaka was damn near unhittable, getting Dustin Pedroia to fly out to begin the bottom of the first. Xander Bogaerts flied out as well but David Ortiz lashed a ground rule double. Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to end the inning.
Rodriguez returned for the top of the second and ran into trouble. Chase Headley and Rob Refsnyder both grounded out but Tyler Austin hit a ground rule double. Gardner was hit with a pitch and Ellsbury flied out to center to end the inning. Tanaka continued to dominate in the bottom of the second. Hanley Ramirez, Travis Shaw and Sandy Leon all grounded out in short order to end the inning.
The Yankees knocked out Rodriguez in the top of the third. Sanchez flied out but Castro doubled. Butler singled to score Castro and Gregorious doubled Butler to third. Headley singled home Butler to make it 4-0 to chase Rodriguez. Another horrid start by Rodriguez lasting just 2 1/3 innings.
Heath Hembree took over and Headley stole second. Hembree got a key out when he struck out Refsnyder with runners in scoring position. Austin grounded out to end the inning. Could the Sox respond now down 4-0? Sort of. Jackie Bradley Jr walked to lead off the bottom of the third. The returning Andrew Benintendi grounded back to Tanaka but JBJ moved to second. Pedroia singled JBJ to third and Bogaerts walked. All Ortiz could muster was a sac fly to score JBJ but Mr. Mookie popped up to end the inning. The Sox did get a run back to trail 4-1 after three.
The Yankees got another run in the top of the fourth. Gardner walked but Ellsbury flied out. Gardner swiped second and moved to third on a passed ball by Leon. Castro grounded to third but Gardner scored on the single by Castro. Butler struck out but it was now 5-1. Tanaka began to cruise at this point. Ramirez grounded out and Shaw popped up, but Leon somehow singled. JBJ grounded out to end the inning.
Junichi Tazawa got the the 5th inning as Sox manager John Farrell began to treat the game as a throwaway. Gregorious hit a leadoff double and stole third. All the Yankees needed was a sac fly to put the game out of reach. Instead Tazawa struck out Headley, Refsnyder and Austin to retire the side. HUGE inning for Tazawa as it turned out. Mason Williams took over in right to begin the bottom of the fifth. Benintendi somehow doubled but Pedroia grounded out. Bogaerts grounded out to move Andrew to third but Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
Little used Robby Scott took over in the top of the sixth inning. Gardner looked at strike 3, Ellsbury popped up and Sanchez grounded out to end the inning. Tanaka continued his hot streak in the bottom of the 6th. Mr.Mookie grounded out, Ramirez popped up and Shaw grounded out to end the inning.
Scott returned for the top of the seventh and cruised. Castro and Butler grounded out and Gregorious flied out to end the inning. Tanaka then completed his night with a flurry. Leon grounded out but JBJ walked. Benintendi moved JBJ to second with a ground out but Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. The Sox mustered 1 run off Tanaka, they don't beat good pitchers.
The Yankees almost put the game on ice in the top of the 8th. Headley singled and Williams sacrificed him to second. Austin walked but Gardner flied out. Ellsbury singled through the hole in short but Headley was gunned down at home to end the inning. That lost run was huge as the game concluded. History was made in the bottom of the eighth against Adam Warren, who replaced Tanaka. Bogaerts popped to second but David Ortiz gave the middle finger to the Yankees by crushing a 442 foot home run to not only cut the lead 5-2, but pass Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list. Ortiz passed Mantle and he did it against the Yankees. Mr. Mookie beat out an infield single and took second on a wild pitch. Ramirez grounded to third but Shaw walked. Leon looked at strike three to end the inning.
Joe Kelly took over in the top of the ninth and the Yankees almost iced it again. Sanchez and Castro singled but Brian McCann pinch hit for Butler and whiffed. Gregorious walked to load the bases but Kelly punched out Headley. Kelly then saved his own live when Williams lined a rocket toward his head but he snared it at the last second to end the inning. The Sox then pulled off a miracle in the bottom of the ninth. Old friend Tommy Layne was brought in and Sox manager John Farrell pinch hit JBJ with Aaron Hill...who struck out on 3 pitches. Chris Young pinch hit for Benintendi but Yankees manager Joe Girardi countered with Robbie Parker....who plunked Young. Girardi then rolled the dice by bringing in an exhausted Delen Betances to close the game out. Young took second on defensive indifference but Pedroia walked to put the tying run at the plate. Both runners moved over on defensive indifference but Young was thrown out at home on the ground out by Bogaerts. The Yankees were up 3 with one out to go and....Ortiz singled into the gap to score Pedroia and advance Bogaerts to third. Marco Herandez pinch ran for Ortz as Mr. Mookie singled home Bogaerts to make it 5-4. Hanley Ramirez stepped to the plate after failing time and time again with 2 outs in the ninth. The Ron Kulpa game in New York, the 2-1 loss to the Twins at Fenway, etc....but tonight was his night as he blasted a 3 run walkoff bomb to center to stun the Yankees and give the Sox a 7-5 victory.
Hero of the night is easy, Hanley Ramirez won the game with a 3 run walkoff home run.
The Good:
David Ortiz kept the team in the game, driving in 3 of the runs before Betts and Ramirez did the rest. He was 3 for 4 with a run scored and 3 rbi's, also blasting career homer number 537. Marco Hernandez pinch ran for Ortiz and scored. Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored. Jackie Bradley Jr walked twice and scored a run before being pinch hit for by Aaron Hill. Andrew Benintendi was1 for 3 in his return to action. Chris Young pinch hit for Andrew and was hit with a pitch. Junichi Tazawa struck out the side with runners on second and third with nobody out in the 5th. Robby Scott was the unsung hero with 3 scoreless innings of relief. Joe Kelly got the win with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Aaron Hill struck out pinch hitting for JBJ. Eduardo Rodriguez sucked by allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in just 2 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run. Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but walked and scored. Travis Shaw was 0 for 3 but walked. Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4. Heath Hembree gave up a run in an inning and a third but it was unearned.
Final Thoughts:
That was a devastating loss for the Yankees and a season saving victory for the Red Sox. The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays are feasting on last place teams so the Sox HAVE to beat the Yankees to keep pace. This went from a heartbreaker to a thrillride real quick. Hanley FINALLY delivered in the clutch, Ortiz passed Mickey Mantle and apart from Rodriguez, everybody pitched in to minimalize the Yankees chances. There's still a lot of work to do but the Sox stole one here, and they'll take it. Ironically for a team that rarely comes back, this is their third win when trailing by 3 with 2 outs in the ninth. This improved the Sox record to 82-64, 2 games ahead of the Jays and O's for first place in the AL East with 16 to play. Tomorrow the Yankees turn to Luis Cessa to take on the unpredictable Clay Buchholz (6-10) in Game 2 of this crucial series.
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