The Sox wasted no time scoring off Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the first inning as Mr. Mookie Betts nearly hit one out but settled for a wall ball double. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to first but Betts moved to third, where he scored on the JD Martinez base hit. Xander Bogaerts whiffed but Martinez took off for second. As usual the incompetent Gary Sanchez threw the ball into center that allowed JD to reach third. He was stranded when Brock "The Hitman" Holt struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Rodriguez meanwhile labored through the bottom of the first inning. Andrew McCutchen drew a full count walk before Aaron Judge whiffed on another full count. The alert Christian Vazquez gunned down McCutchen trying to steal but Aaron Hicks smacked a full count double. Giancarlo Stanton drew a full count walk but Didi Gregorius flied out to right to end the inning after a 29 pitch effort by Rodriguez.
The Sox got to Tanaka again in the top of the second as Rafael Devers and Blake Swihart stroked back to back singles to start. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out but both runners advanced into scoring position. Vazquez whiffed but Mr. Mookie singled home both runners to increase the lead. Benintendi grounded back to the mound to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.
The Yankees wasted no time getting back in the game although Miguel Andujar flied out to right. Sanchez singled and the suddenly red hot Luke Voit smashed a 400,000 foot bomb to cut the lead. Gleyber Torres whiffed but McCutchen singled. Judge lined out to right to end the inning with the Yankees down 3-2.
The Sox answered in the top of the third although Martinez grounded out to third to begin. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Holt crushed a second deck blast to right to increase the lead. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 4-2.
Rodriguez once again struggled in the bottom of the third although Hicks whiffed to start. Stanton drew a full count walk and Gregorius singled but Andujar flied out to left. Rodriguez blew away Sanchez to end the inning.
The Sox were finally silenced in the top of the fourth inning as Swihart grounded out to first, JBJ grounded out to second and Vazquez flied out to center. The Yankees exploded in the bottom of the fourth although Voit lined out to left to begin. Torres flied out to center but Rodriguez crapped himself by walking McCutchen, Judge and Hicks to load the bases, the latter two on full counts. That was it for E-Rod who left after walking SEVEN in just 3 2/3 innings.
Heath Hembree came in and guess what he did? He poured gas on the fire as Stanton blasted a 2,000 foot moonshot grand slam to give the Yankees the lead. Gregorius flied out to right but the Sox bullpen struck again and the Yankees had the 6-4 lead.
The Sox refused to go quietly in the top of the fifth as Mr. Mookie doubled to start and Benintendi singled him to third. Martinez banged into a double play but Betts scored to cut into the lead. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were down 6-5.
Steven Wright saved the day in the bottom of the fifth as Andujar grounded out to second, Sanchez whiffed and Voit lined out to second to end the inning in short order.
Chad Green came on for the top of the sixth and dominated, striking out the side in order. Holt, Devers and Swihart all went down swinging to end the inning. Wright responded by striking out Torres to begin the bottom of the sixth. McCutchen grounded out to third and Judge popped up to second to end the inning.
As good as Green was in the top of the sixth, the top of the seventh was a different story. JBJ tied the game with his 13th home run of the year and Vazquez singled to chase him. Dellin Betances came on and Mr. Mookie was frozen for strike three. Benintendi stepped up with a double to force Betances to intentionally walk Martinez to load the bases. Tzu-Wei Lin ran for Vazquez and Bogaerts flied out to center. Lin made a mad dash for home and Hicks' throw was way off-line, scoring not only Lin but Benintendi as well to give the Sox the lead. Holt whiffed to end the inning but the Sox had rallied to take the lead 8-6.
Sandy Leon took over for Lin as Wright returned for the bottom of the seventh. Hicks popped up to first and Stanton grounded out to third, but Gregorius singled. With the tying run at the plate, Andujar flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the eighth against Aroldis Chapman. Devers singled and Steve Pearce pinch hit for Swihart only to line out to left. JBJ walked but Leon whiffed. Mr. Mookie put the exclamation point on the night with a 3 run blast that effectively ended the game. Not only that, it chased Chapman from the game. Jonathan Holder entered the game and walked Benintendi but Martinez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-6.
Mitch Moreland took over at first as Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. This time he ran into no obstacles as Sanchez flied out to left to start. Voit whiffed and Torres grounded out to second to end the inning.
AJ Cole came in to pitch to Bogaerts to begin the top of the ninth and Xander flied out to left. Stephen Tarpley relieved him and walked Holt. Devers and Moreland both whiffed to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to lock up the division title in the bottom of the ninth. McCutchen led off with a triple but Kimbrel blew away Judge. Hicks popped up to third and Craig blew away Stanton to end it. The Sox had beaten the Yankees and had 3-Peated as AL East Division Champions 11-6.
Hero of the Night is Mookie Betts. He was 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 5 total rbis including the insurance 3 run home run.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Blake Swihart was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 total runs scored including a solo home run.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3.
Tzu-Wei Lin scored a run as a pinch runner.
Steven Wright got the win with 3 scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Steve Pearce was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Mitch Moreland struck out in his only plate appearance.
Sandy Leon struck out in his only plate appearance.
Eduardo Rodriguez was charged for 5 runs in just 3 2/3 innings including SEVEN walks allowed.
Heath Hembree gave up a grand slam to Stanton.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and stole a base.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but walked and the hit was a solo home run.
Final Thoughts:
Its been a hell of a season and for the third year in a row the Sox will be dancing in October. How long they last depends on if the terrible bullpen somehow holds up and the rotation gets their act together in 2 weeks. Not a single starter has gone 7 innings in a long time and the bullpen has been absolutely horrendous which is not a recipe for October success. Still, when Mookie Betts is swinging the bat, the rest of the offense appears to join in. There was some positives to come out of this series such as Nathan Eovaldi's ice water veined performance in Tuesday night's game and the Sox beating the crap out of Tanaka plus the bullpen tonight. If Chris Sale can be effective and David Price stays the hell away from Yankee Stadium then the Sox may have a chance in the ALDS against whomever the opponent is. The win propelled the Sox to 104-49, matching the 1946 Red Sox for second best record in franchise history. Tomorrow night the Sox continue their road trip by heading to Cleveland for a three game set with the Indians. Trevor Bauer takes the mound for the tribe opposite Chris Sale (12-4, 1.92) ERA at 7:10 PM at Progressive Field.
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