The Sox put the game away early in the top of the first inning although Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right to begin. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second but JD Martinez beat out an infield single to second. Mitch Moreland walked and Xander Bogaerts singled. Last night it was Gleyber Torres of the Yankees who was the big hero so tonight it was Rafael Devers turn to take center stage as he pulvarized a grand slam into the left field stands to ice the game early. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 4-0 Sox.
Sale got off to a rocky start when he plunked Aaron Hicks to open the bottom of the first although he recovered to blow away Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton singled but Torres whiffed. Didi Gregorius lined out to center to end the inning. That would be the last hit allowed by Sale the rest of his outing.
The Sox pounced again in the top of the second inning as Sandy Leon doubled to start. Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to left but Mr. Mookie walked. Benintendi singled to right to score Leon and advance JBJ to third, where he scored on the Martinez sac fly. Benintendi swiped second but Moreland grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 6-0.
Sale got Miguel Andujar to pop up to first to open the bottom of the second before Brandon Drury looked at strike three. Austin Romine walked and moved to second on a wild pitch but Brett Gardner looked at strike three to end the inning.
The Sox knocked Gray out in the top of the third as Bogaerts and Devers stroked back to back singles to open the frame. Both runners advanced into scoring position on the Nunez grounder and that was it for Gray. Adam Warren replaced him and got Leon to fly out to right. Bogaerts took off for home but was thrown out by Judge to end the inning. Sale cruised in the bottom of the third as Hicks flied out to center, Judge whiffed and Stanton lined out to short to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as JBJ flied out to left to start. Mr. Mookie singled but Benintendi and Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Sale blew away Torres to start the bottom of the fourth before Gregorious popped up back to Chris. Andujar flied out to center to end the inning.
Warren held down the Sox in the top of the fifth as Moreland whiffed to start. Bogaerts grounded out to third but Devers singled. Nunez whiffed to end the inning. Sale cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Drury whiffed to start. Romine grounded out to second and Gardner grounded out to third to end the inning.
Giovanny Gallegos came in for the Yankees and the Sox tagged him in the top of the sixth. Leon whiffed to start before JBJ singled. Mr. Mookie walked but Benintendi whiffed. Martinez joined the rbi parade with a single to score JBJ. Moreland flied out to left to end the inning but it was 7-0 Sox.
Sale turned up the heat in the bottom of the sixth by striking out Hicks to start. Sale blew away Judge and Stanton to end the inning.
Kyle Higashioka came in to catch the top of the seventh as Bogaerts grounded out to short to begin. Devers smacked a double to right before Nunez whiffed. Leon smashed his fourth homer of the year to increase the lead before JBJ grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-0.
Sale returned for one last inning in the bottom of the seventh and he began by striking out Torres. Gregorius grounded out to first and Andujar grounded out to second to end the inning. Sale had thrown 7 innings of 1 hit, no run ball while striking out 11. Yankee fans were stunned.
Jonathan Holder was the next to get tagged in the top of the eighth as Mr. Mookie doubled to begin. Benintendi moved Betts to third with a groundout and Martinez singled Betts home. Moreland flied out to right and Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 10-0 Sox.
Brock "The Hitman" Holt took over for Nunez, Blake Swihart took over for Leon and Heath Hembree took the mound for the bottom of the eighth inning. Drury whiffed to start before Higashioka popped up to second. Gardner walke but Hicks grounded out to first to end the inning.
Chasen Shreve was the last in line for the Sox to score on in the top of the ninth. Devers got his 5th hit of the night with a base hit to left to begin. A wild pitch moved Devers to second before he scored on the Holt single. Swihart whiffed, JBJ lined out to second and Mr. Mookie whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-0.
Steve Pearce came in for Moreland with Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez now on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Judge grounded out to third and Stanton grounded out to short before Torres singled to left. Gregorius grounded out to end the game. The Sox had ransacked the Yankees 11-0 to jump back in first.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He held the high powered Yankee offense to just 1 hit over 7 innings while striking out 11.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 3 for 4 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 5 for 5 with 3 total runs scored including a grand slam.
Brock Holt singled and drove in a run as a pinch hitter.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored including a 2 run homer.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Blake Swihart struck out in his only at bat.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 but walked and scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Steve Pearce played first in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Now that's more like it. After getting humiliated last night it was nice to see the Sox serve it back to the Yankees in their own house. Chris Sale was outstanding and if these two teams are to meet in October, I'd match him up against anyone the Yankees throw out. Devers has been in a sophomore slump this season so to see him break out was great to see. The addition of Steve Pearce may not pay dividends in the boxscore but having that extra depth will keep a lot of people healthy when it matters. Beating the Yankees in New York is always clutch especially with first place on the line. There's still one more game to win if the Sox want to walk out of New York in first place. The win improved the Sox to 56-28, 1 game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night is the rubber match to decide first place and give someone that lead in the season series with both teams at four wins apiece right now. David Price (9-5) looks to shed his "not a big game pitcher" image when he takes on Luis Severino at 8:00 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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