Sale took the ball in the top of the first and Gardner flied out to left to begin the game. Aaron Hicks whiffed but Aaron Judge walked. Gary Sanchez whiffed on a high fastball to end the inning. Sabathia continued his domination of the Sox in the bottom of the first inning. Eduardo Nunez got called out on a pitch way outside to start before Mookie Betts lined out right to CC. Andrew Benintendi tried to bunt his way on but was thrown out at first to end the inning.
The Yankees struck first in the top of the second although Chase Headley grounded out to third to start. The wheels fell off as Didi Gregorious hit a ground rule double, Todd Frazier was hit on the knee and Tyler Austin crushed a 3 run home run completely out of Fenway to give the Yankees what seemed an insurmountable lead. An angry Sale blew away Ronald Torreyes on 3 pitches but Gardner singled. Hicks grounded into a force to end the inning but the Yankees were up 3-0.
The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the second inning as Hanley Ramirez grounded out to second to start. Chris Young struck out and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sale made short work of the Yankees in the top of the third inning. Judge flied out to right but Sanchez hit a ground ball to Bogaerts, who dropped a Hulk Hogan style legdrop on it then posed for the irate crowd as Sanchez made it to first on the error. Luckily Headley banged into a double play to end the inning. Sabathia's dominance against the Sox continued in the bottom of the third inning. Rafael Devers struck out and Sandy Leon lined out to second, but Jackie Bradley Jr blooped a single into left. Nunez grounded out to end the inning.
Sale got a big assist from his defense in the top of the fourth inning. Gregorious singled off the wallm in left but Frazier whiffed. Austin then crushed a bomb to center but JBJ literally jumped up the wall to make the catch. Torreyes flied out to center to end the inning, what a catch by Bradley.
The Sox failed to pick up Sale in the bottom of the fourth inning. Betts looked at strike three, Benintendi lined out to left and Ramirez popped to short to end the inning.
Sale returned for the top of the fifth and got Gardner to ground out to third to start. Hicks doubled to the wall and moved to third when Judge struck out. Leon threw the ball into centerfield for the error. Sale recovered to get Sanchez to ground out to end the inning. The Sox finally broke through on Sabathia for the first time all year in the bottom of the fifth inning. Young grounded out to third but Bogaerts walked. Devers singled him to third before Leon grounded out, scoring Bogaerts. Bogaerts scored the first run against Sabathia this year. JBJ singled home a sliding Devers to cut the lead to one run. Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning but they closed the gap 3-2.
Just as soon as the Sox scored 2, Sale gave one right back in the top of the sixth inning. Headley lined out to right and Gregorious struck out, but Frazier blasted a solo home run to increase the lead. Austin grounded out to third but the air was out of Fenway Park with the Yankees leading 4-2.
Betts doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth but was stranded when Benintendi popped up to left, Ramirez popped up to third and Young popped up to second to end the inning.
Sale returned for the top of the seventh inning and struck out Torreyes to start. Gardner singled but Hicks whiffed. Sale blew away Judge to end the inning. Sale didn't have his best stuff but had battled through 7 innings to save the bullpen some trouble.
The Sox showed some life in the bottom of the seventh inning against Adam Warren although Bogaerts struck out. Devers then hammered a solo home run into center to cut the lead. Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged the home run call but the umpire told him to pound sand. Leon struck out and that was it for Warren as David Robertson got the call. JBJ grounded out to end the inning but it was now 4-3.
Matt Barnes was summoned to pitch the top of the eighth and he began by getting Sanchez to ground out. Headley grounded out to short but Gregorious singled to right. A wild pitch moved Gregorious to second but Frazier grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox blew a major chance in the bottom of the eighth inning as Nunez grounded out to third to start. Betts looked at strike three and Benintendi struck out swinging....but the ball got away and he reached first. Ramirez finally got a hit when he doubled as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Young....only to be intentionally walked. Bogaerts whiffed badly to end the inning, what a waste.
Heath Hembree got the call in the top of the ninth and fans quickly turned on him when he allowed a leadoff double to Austin. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch ran for Austin and he moved to third on the sacrifice bunt by Torreyes. That was it for Hembree as Robby Scott came in and Gardner grounded to Devers who fired home to nab Ellsbury for the second out. That was it for Scott as Joe Kelly was brought in only to throw the ball to third for absolutely no reason with nobody standing there for an error, allowing Gardner to reach second. Hicks walked but Judge whiffed to end the inning. The Sox had one last chance in he bottom of the ninth against Dellin Betances although Devers looked at strike three to start. Leon swung and missed at strike three.....and the ball got away again and he scampered to first. Sox manager John Farrell sent in Brock Holt to pinch run and as soon as he ran on the field, he ran right to to second base, getting thrown out by a mile amidst thunderous boos from the crowd. He had no reason to go but he went anyway. JBJ flied out to left to end the game, the Yankees had held on to win 4-2.
Jackass of the Night is Brock Holt. He had ONE job and he failed miserably, running into an out that cost the Sox the game.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland walked in his only plate appearance.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored and his 8th homer of the year.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Robby Scott got the one out he was asked to get.
Joe Kelly got the final out of the 9th inning.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Chris Young was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Chris Sale took the loss by giving up 4 runs in 7 innings of work including homers to a rookie and a .200 hitter.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Sandy Leon was just 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Heath Hembree left a runner on third base but he did not score.
Final Thoughts:
That was a stupid, crushing loss in a game that could have buried the Yankees once and for all. The Sox had a 5 game lead with Chris Sale on the mound and the Yankees beat him with CC Sabathia. If that wasn't embarassing in itself, they lost by running into another out. It wasn't just Holt, the top of the Sox order went a combined 2 for 16. Bogaerts striking out with the bases loaded was huge too. All in all it added up to another frustrating loss in a crucial week the Sox can ill afford to suck through. The loss dropped the Sox to 70-52, just 4 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon is the big rubber game of the series. Either the Yankees pull within 3 or go down by 5. Sonny Gray starts for the Yankees with Rick Porcello (7-14, 4.59 ERA) going for the Sox. The games are getting more important and intense as the season progresses so this could be a must-win for both teams tomorrow at 1:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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