Friday, June 29, 2018

Yankees Crush Rodriguez, Sox (6/29/18)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox activated newly acquired OF/1B Steve Pearce to the active roster. He's got an rbi bat and infield depth and should be a nice platoon with Mitch Moreland. The Sox sent down infielder Tzu-Wei Lin to Pawtucket to clear room for him.
                                                                   OUT
                                                             IN

As for the game, what a disaster. The Sox walked right into a New York buzzsaw and were completely unprepared. CC Sabathia of the Yankees continued to be the big game pitcher he's always been by tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball. The relentless Yankee offense pounded Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3, 4.11 ERA) into submission and rode four home runs to a 11-1 spanking of the Sox at Yankee Stadium to put the Yankees in first place.

Sabathia began his domination in the top of the first inning as Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to center to begin. Andrew Benintendi whiffed before JD Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning. Rodriguez started strong in the bottom of the first by getting Aaron Hicks to fly out to center to start. Aaron Judge lined out to center before Giancarlo Stanton walked. Didi Gregorius flied out to left to end the inning.

Steve Pearce made his Red Sox debut with a double to left then moved to third on the Xander Bogaerts fly out to right. He was stranded as Eduardo Nunez popped up to first and Rafael Devers lined out to center to end the inning. The Yankees struck first in the bottom of the second as Gleyber Torres tripled past Jackie Bradley Jr in center before Miguel Andujar singled him home. Greg Bird looked at strike three and Austin Romine banged into a double play but it was 1-0 New York.
                                                The Yankees strike first

The Sox failed to respond in the top of the third inning as Christian Vazquez grounded out to third to start. JBJ looked at strike three but Mr. Mookie singled. Betts swiped second and Benintendi walked, but Martinez lined out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez cruised in the bottom of the third as Brett Gardner grounded out to third to begin. Hicks grounded out to third and Judge lined out to center to end the inning.

Pearce singled to open the top of the fourth but Bogaerts banged into a double play. Nunez singled but Devers grounded out to short to end the inning. The Yankees iced the game in the bottom of the fourth as Stanton walked to start before Gregorius doubled him to third. Torres scored Stanton with a sac fly and Andujar crushed a 30,000 foot home run to ice the game. Bird then hit a 950 foot blast for another run to rub it in. Romine grounded out to second but Gardner singled. Hicks flied out to left to end the inning but it was 5-0 Yankees and that was that.
                                             Rodriguez couldn't get it done

The Sox did manage to fight back in the top of the fifth although Vazquez lined out to left to begin. JBJ flied out to center but Mr. Mookie doubled and Benintendi doubled him home. Benintendi swiped third but Martinez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 5-1.
                                                         Betts scores the only run

Rodriguez returned for the bottom of the fifth and cruised. Judge looked at strike three before Stanton grounded out to second. Gregorius lined out to third to end the inning.

Any hopes of a rally were dashed in the top of the sixth as Pearce whiffed to start. Bogaerts grounded out to second and Nunez flied out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez came back for one more inning in the bottom of the sixth but gave up a single to Torres to start. Andujar popped up to first, Bird popped up to second and Romine flied out to right to end the inning. Rodriguez got lit up for 5 runs but did manage to last 6 innings.
                                             Rodriguez failed to keep the Sox in first

Sabathia came back for the top of the seventh and dominated. Devers and Vazquez both whiffed but JBJ was plunked. Mr. Mookie grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Sabathia has been a big game pitcher his whole career and with first place on the line, he stepped up. Justin Haley was the sacrificial lamb to pitch the rest of the game and he got tagged in the bottom of the seventh. Gardner grounded out to second but Hicks singled. Judge crushed a 300,000 foot home run into the Long Island Sound to increase the lead. Stanton flied out to center and Gregorius grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 7-1 Yankees.
                                                          What a bomb by Judge

Chad Green had the top of the eighth and the Sox went quietly. Benintendi looked at strike three, Martinez lined out to right and Pearce flied out to center to end the inning. Haley came back to finish the bottom of the eighth but the Yankees got him again. Torres flied out to right before Andujar singled, only to get thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Bird then smashed a 14,000 foot home run to wrap up the scoring. Romine flied out to right to end the inning with the Yankees up 8-1.
                                                     Bird hits another one out

Chasen Shreve had mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Bogaerts grounded out to second to start. Nunez whiffed and Devers struck out swinging to end the game. The Yankees had taken the game and first place with a 8-1 victory.


Jackass of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. With first place on the line he got shelled for 5 runs in 6 innings of work while giving up 2 long bombs. So much for him stepping up as a big game pitcher.
                                                        Rodriguez the Jackass


The Good:

Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and an rbi.

Steve Pearce was 2 for 4.



The Bad:

JD Martinez was 0 for 4.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Justin Haley gave up 3 runs in 2 innings.



The Ugly:

Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 but was hit with a pitch.




Final Thoughts:

So much for coming into New York and sending a message to the Yankees, unless the message was "WE GIVE UP!" That was embarrassing not only to get their asses handed to them but to not even put up a fight. Sabathia had them out of sorts all night and whatever the Yankees hit seemed to go a long way. For a team that could be destined to win 100 games, the Yankees could be on pace to win 105. This kind of effort is not going to cut it for the Red Sox, especially on the road in New York. Steve Pearce got two hits in his debut but Martinez, Bogaerts, Devers and Vazquez were a combined 0 for 15 with 3 strikeouts. There are two games left in this set but they better improve in a hurry or else they're not walking out of New York in first place. The loss drops the Sox to 55-28, 1 game behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox turn to Chris Sale (7-4) to bail them out against Yankees starter Sonny Gray at 7:10 PM at Yankee Stadium.

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