Jaime Garcia got the ball in the top of the first inning and the Sox wasted no time scoring. Eduardo Nunez popped up meekly to first but Mookie Betts walked. Andrew Benintendi popped up but Hanley Ramirez then absolutely crushed a 2 run moon shot over the bullpen to give the Sox the lead. Chris Young flied out to a running Aaron Judge in right to end the inning but it was 2-0 Red Sox.
The much maligned Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Aaron Hicks almost hit one out, but Jackie Bradley Jr snared it at the wall. Gary Sanchez and Judge worked back to back walks but E-Rod somehow got Didi Gregorious lined out to right. Todd Frazier hit a pop up into no man's land and JBJ had to race and slide to get it. The inning was over but Rodriguez had to throw 29 pitches.
Garcia had an easy top of the second inning and it started with a Xander Bogaerts ground out to short. Rafael Devers did manage an infield single to third but Christian Vazquez struck out. Devers swiped second but JBJ grounded back to Garcia to end the inning. Garrett Cooper led off the bottom of the second with a ground out to short. Jacoby Ellsbury hit one to the wall but Betts ran it down then Rodriguez dialed up a 96 mph fastball to strike out Ronald Torreyes to end the inning.
Garcia did not have an easy top of the third inning as Nunez hit a bullet.....right to Gregorious for the out. Betts singled to left but Hicks cut the ball off to hold him to one base. Benintendi then blooped a single to center and Betts made a mad dash to third on the terrible throw. Benintendi made it to second on the play. Ramirez was intentionally walked and the gamble worked as Young check swinged strike 3 on back to back sliders then Bogaerts hit a comebacker to Garcia to end the inning. Another waste by a terrible offense. Rodriguez trudged to the mound in the bottom of the third and somehow got Austin Romine to ground out to third. Hicks doubled just out of the reach of Betts but Betts ran down a pop up from Sanchez. Rodriguez then blew away Judge with a high fastball to end the inning.
Garcia cruised in the top of the fourth inning as Devers grounded out into the shift, Vazquez struck out and JBJ whiffed badly to end the inning. Nunez nearly killed himself catching a pop up off the bat of Gregorious to begin the bottom of the fourth. Rodriguez whiffed Frazier then Cooper on a nasty changeup to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth inning. Nunez whiffed and Betts lined out to left but Benintendi blasted a solo home run into the upper deck in right to increase the lead. Ramirez then hit a shot off the centerfield fence but Ramirez lollygagged around first and stayed at second. Young walked but Bogaerts flied out to end the inning. 2 more men were left on base but it was now 3-0 Red Sox.
Rodriguez returned for the bottom of the fifth and froze Ellsbury for strike three. Torreyes then smashed a double off the top of the fence. Romine hit the ball to the wall in center but JBJ ran it down for the second out, although Torreyes moved to third. Rodriguez showed some serious balls by freezing Hicks on strike three to end the inning. E-Rod had thrown 93 pitches but hadn't allowed a run yet.
Garcia returned for the top of the sixth and Devers whiffed on a pitch in the dirt. Vazquez stroked a single to center but was erased on the JBJ force. That was it for Garcia as Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled him in favor of Adam Warren. Nunez poked a single into right but Betts flied out to end the inning. 2 more men left on base....yuck. Rodriguez returned for one more strong inning in the bottom of the sixth. Sanchez froze on a 3-2 pitch on the outside corner. Judge flied out to deep center and Gregorious popped up to left to end the inning. That was a balsy, bounce back game for Rodriguez to toss 6 shut-out innings and to escape the jams that he did.
The Sox offense was done for the night in the top of the seventh inning as Benintendi looked at strike three to begin. Ramirez grounded out and Young did too to end the inning. Mitch Moreland took over at first base in the bottom of the seventh with Matt Barnes on the mound. Frazier drew a four pitch walk but pinch-hitter Chase Headley flied out to left. Ellsbury also flied out to left and Torreyes hit a comebacker back to Barnes to end the inning. The Sox were 6 outs away from 9 in a row.
The Sox still weren't going to score in the top of the eighth as Bogaerts grounded out to short and Devers watched strike three go by. Vazquez hit a comebacker right to the mound to end the inning. It was up to Addison Reed to preserve the lead in the bottom of the eighth and Brett Gardner pinch hit for Romine. Reed promptly crapped his pants as he hit Gardner in the foot and Hicks hit a 300 foot pop up home run to cut the lead 3-2. Sanchez hit a bloop single to left and a wild pitch moved him to second. Judge walked and that was it for Reed. He came in to protect a 3 run lead and hit someone, given up a home run, a single and a walk. YUCK! Sox manager John Farrell refused to go to Craig Kimbrel to stop the bleeding, choosing to go to Joe Kelly instead. The move failed as Gregorious blooped a single to left to score Sanchez with the tying run. Frazier singled to score the go-ahead run but Headley struck out. Ellsbury singled to load the bases and Gregorious scored on the Torreyes sac fly. Gardner walked and that was it for Kelly. He was brought in to protect a one run lead and gave up 3 hits and a walk. Fernando Abad came in and got Hicks to pop up to end the inning. The Sox awakened the sleeping giant and the Yankees turned a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
A major travesty occurred in the top of the ninth inning with Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman on the mound. He walked JBJ on four pitches and Nunez in 5. Betts worked a full count walk and suddenly it was bases loaded and nobody out. With Chapman on the ropes the Sox let him off the hook when Benintendi hit a fly ball to left field. JBJ tagged up and scored but Nunez foolishly tried to tag to go to third and he was tagged out for the second out. It was foolish for him to try because Chapman was struggling and he handed him the second out. Betts did go to second to put the tying run in scoring position but Moreland flied out to center to end the game. The Yankees stole one 5-4...a totally crushing loss.
Jackass of the Night is Addison Reed. Yes Kelly gave up the lead and Nunez made a dumbass decision but none of that would have happened if Reed didn't piss down his leg to begin the bottom of the eighth.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a run scored, home run and 2 total rbis.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 run home run.
Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 6 shut out innings while striking out 7.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 7 innings.
Fernando Abad got the final out of the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland made the final out of the game on a fly out.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.
Joe Kelly gave up 3 hits and a walk to blow the game in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Eduardo Nunez was 1 for 4 with a walk and a monumental stupid baserunning decision.
Chris Young was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was a heartbreaking, crushing loss that should have been an easy win. The Yankees were on the ropes not only for the game but for the season as well. They would have been 5.5 games out with Chris Sale going Sunday, maybe they would have lost hope. Instead it was a huge comeback win for New York that could possibly spark them. Lost in the confusion was the Sox offense once again scored more than 3 runs and continued to be terrible with runners in scoring position against the Yankees. Instead of being 4-6 against the Yankees they are now 3-7 going into the next two games. The loss dropped the Red Sox to 65-50, 3.5 ahead of the Yankees. Drew Pomeranz (11-4, 3.36 ERA) takes the hill opposite Luis Severino who's had the Sox number this season. See how big this game was? The sure defeat starts at 4 PM tomorrow.
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