Luis Cessa got the ball to start the game and Dustin Pedroia grounded back to Cessa to begin the game. Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz both flied out to center to end the inning. The Yankees struck first in the bottom of the first. Brett Gardner whiffed on a slider in the dirt but Jacoby Ellsbury singled up the middle. Gary Sanchez blasted his 20th home run of the year to left to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Starlin Castro flied out to center and Chase Headley grounded out to third to end the inning, but the damage was done.
Could the Sox rally in the top of the second? NO! Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to second and Hanley Ramirez popped up, but Brock "Hitman" Holt blooped a single into right. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to end the inning. The Yankees pestered Price in the bottom of the second when Didi Gregorius singled in the hole at short but Aaron Hicks popped up to Pedroia. Austin Romine then bounced into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox got some bad luck in the top of the third. Sandy Leon hit an absolute rocket to right but Aaron Hicks literally jumped up to snare the ball. Andrew Benintendi then hit a rocket to center and Ellsbury leaped at the all to snare that as well. Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. The Yankees threatened again in the bottom of the third Tyler Austin singled off the glove of Holt and advanced to second on the bunt by Gardner. Ellsbury whiffed on a 3-2 count but Sanchez walked. Castro flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox once again failed to score off Cessa in the top of the fourth although Xander Bogaerts singled over the glove of Castro. Ortiz popped up on a full count, Mr. Mookie flied out to the wall in left and Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox were getting shut out by LUIS CESSA! Price matched Cessa in the bottom of the fifth when Headley flied out to Betts to begin the inning. Gregorius hit a rocket to Ramirez at first and Hicks grounded out to third to end the inning.
Cessa cruised in the top of the fifth. Holt grounded out to third but JBJ walked. Leon banged into a double play to end the inning. Price got tagged again in the bottom of the fifth when Romine and Austin stroked back to back singles. Gardner bunted the runners over and Ellsbury singled home Romine. Sanchez banged into a double play to end the inning but it was now 3-0.
The Sox threatened in the top of the sixth as Benny The Kid hit a swinging bunt, Cessa throwing the ball over the head of the first basemen, allowing Benny to take second. Pedroia singled home Benny to cut the lead 3-1. Bogaerts doubled off the left field wall, missing a homer by 6 feet. Ortiz shockingly whiffed but Mr. Mookie scored Pedroia to cut the lead 3-2 with a ground out. Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
Price gave up the run right back although he got a huge lift from his defense to lighten the damage. Castro singled then was doubled off at first after Mr. Mookie made a great diving catch to rob Headley. It was a good thing Mookie made the catch because Gregorius immediately crushed his 20th homer of the year to increase the lead 4-2, better than 7-2. Hicks flied out to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the seventh against the useless Yankee bullpen. Tommy Layne got the call first and Aaron Hill pinch hit for Holt. Hill earned brownie points with Sox fans by launching a solo home run to left to cut the lead 4-3. JBJ singled and advanced to second on the sacrifice bunt by Leon. Benny The Kid whiffed but Pedroia singled home JBJ to tie the game. That was it for Layne as Blake Parker came in and Bogaerts stroked a single. Once again Ortiz failed when he grounded out to end the inning but the Sox had tied it 4-4. Right on cue the Yankees pounced right back on Price when Romine singled and Austin clobbered a 2 run blast to give the Yankees the lead back 6-4. Gardner singled as well but Ellsbury lined out and that was it. Price was absolute garbage tonight. Brad Ziegler came in and Sanchez banged into a double play to end the inning.
Could the Sox answer in the top of the eighth? NO! Mr. Mookie grounded out but Ramirez walked. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Hill but Yankees manager Joe Girardi countered by bringing in Richard Bleier....so Sox manager John Farrell countered by bringing in Chris Young to pinch hit for Shaw. Now the Sox had wasted 3 third basemen and Ramirez was erased at second on the force by Young to boot. JBJ whiffed to end the inning. Deven Marrero took over at third in the bottom of the eighth as Ziegler returned briefly to get Castro to ground out to Deven. Robbie Ross Jr replaced Ziegler and got no help from Bogaerts who threw a ground ball 75 feet into the stands, allowing Headley to reach first. Gregorius made Ross pay with a single but Hicks lined out. Romine grounded out to end the inning.
The Sox went quickly in the top of the ninth with Ronald Torreyes playing second and Tyler Clippard on the mound. Leon whiffed but Benny The Kid doubled. Pedroia walked to put the tying run on first but Bogaerts popped up and Ortiz struck out to end the game. The Yankees had won it 6-4.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a walk, run scored and 2 rbis. Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5. Brock Holt was 1 for 2. Aaron Hill pinch hit for Holt and homered. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with an rbi. Brad Ziegler tossed an inning of scoreless relief. Robbie Ross Jr got the final 2 outs of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
David Ortiz was almost Jackass by going 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts. Chris Young pinch hit for Travis Shaw and grounded into a force. Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but drove in a run. Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Travis Shaw was supposed to pinch hit for Aaron Hill but was pulled for Chris Young. Deven Marrero played third base in the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
Losing to the Yankees is never fun, especially when its your ace against a rookie starter. I give credit for the Red Sox for trying to come back, but when your starter keeps giving up home runs, the deficit is just too much to overcome. Ortiz had that double against Tampa but he doesn't look right at all. It just wasn't their night. The loss dropped the Sox to 92-65, 5 games in front of the victorious Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East race with just 5 to play. The Texas Rangers also won so the Sox are now a half game behind them. That's actually good news because if the Rangers get the first seed, they play the survivor of Toronto and Baltimore while the Sox get Cleveland at home with no Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. Tomorrow night "Unpredictable" Clay Buchholz (8-10, 5.00 ERA) takes on Adam Mitchell (1-2, 4.50 ERA) in game 2 of the series at 7:05. They have 5 chances left to win the division.
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