The Yankees scored first in the top of the first against starter Nathan Eovaldi as Rafael Devers took a routine grounder by Brett Gardner and spiked it like a football before doing the boogie woogie for an error. Andrew McCutchen whiffed and Aaron Hicks looked at strike three before Giancarlo Stanton scored Gardner with a double to put the Yankees on top. Didi Gregorius whiffed to end the inning but it was 1-0 Yankees.
The Sox failed to respond against starter Domingo Germain in the bottom of the first inning. Andrew Benintendi and Brock "The Hitman" Holt stroked back to back singles but JD Martinez whiffed. Devers looked at strike three before Mitch Moreland flied out to left to end the inning.
Eovaldi settled down in the top of the second inning as Miguel Andujar grounded out to second, Greg Bird also grounded out to second and Austin Romine looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Ian Kinsler drew a leadoff walk to start. Kinsler swiped second and Jackie Bradley Jr doubled him home. Blake Swihart whiffed but Christian Vazquez was plunked. That was it for Germain as Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Stephen Tarpley to pitch. The Sox pulled off a double steal when JBJ and Vazquez both swiped bases but Benintendi flied out to center. Holt whiffed to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
Eduardo Rodriguez was brought in for a tune up in the top of the third and walked Gleybar Torres to start. Gardner lined out to left but McCutchen singled. Hicks hit a ball back to the mound but Rodriguez was just able to get Hicks at first. Stanton whiffed to end the inning. Lance Lynn came in to pitch the bottom of the third and froze Martinez for strike three to begin. Devers grounded out to second but Moreland walked. Kinsler grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Yankees took the lead in the top of the fourth inning as Gregorius singled to start. Andujar flied out to center but Bird doubled home Didi to give the Yankees the lead. Romine grounded out to short but Torres then crushed a 15,000 foot bomb to increase the lead. Gardner walked but McCutchen struck out to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-1. Nice going Rodriguez!
The Sox did manage to fight back in the bottom of the fourth although JBJ grounded out to second to start. Swihart doubled but Vazquez whiffed. Benintendi singled home Swihart to cut the lead in half. Holt popped up to third to end the inning but the Sox were down 4-2.
The Yankees iced the game with Brandon Workman now on the mound for the top of the fifth inning. Hicks singled and Tyler Wade pinch ran for him. Stanton singled but Gregorius beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners only for Andujar to clear the bases with a double. Bird whiffed but Romine lashed a single to center. JBJ picked the ball up and threw it into the Red Sox bullpen for an error that scored Andujar and moved Romine to second. Torres looked at strike three but it was now 7-2 and all over.
The Yankees emptied the bench in the bottom of the fifth inning as Ronald Torreyes came in for torres, Adeiny Hechavarria came in for Gregorius, Gardner moved to center, McCutchen moved to left and Wade took over in right. Sam Travis pinch hit for Martinez and whiffed before Devers struck out swinging as well. Moreland popped up to third to end the inning.
Heath Hembree took over on the mound for the top of the sixth and Gardner flied out to left to begin. McCutchen lined out to center and Wade whiffed to end the inning. Sonny Gray came in for the bottom of the sixth and Kinsler greeted him with a double. JBJ grounded out to second but Kinsler moved to third, only to be stranded when Swihart whiffed. Vazquez lined out to right to end the inning.
Things got comical in the top of the seventh inning as Tzu-Wei Lin took Benintendi's spot in the batting order but moved to center. JBJ went from center to right field, Swihart went from right to left and Steven Wright took over on the mound. Stanton then crushed a home run into the Monster Seats and whoever caught the ball pulled a Henry Rowengartner and fired the ball all the way back, actually hitting Stanton as he rounded second. The fan was given a heroes ovation as he was kindly escorted out of Fenway. Hechavarria whiffed and Andujar flied out to left but Bird singled. Romine whiffed to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 8-2.
The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the seventh as Lin grounded out to second, Holt looked at strike three and Travis watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez had the top of the eighth inning and Torreyes grounded out to third to begin. Gardner grounded back to the mound but McCutchen singled. Wade grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox somehow scored in the bottom of the eighth with Tommy Kahnle now on the mound. Brandon Phillips pinch hit for Devers and walked before Moreland singled. Kinsler walked to load the bases with nobody out but JBJ flied out to left. Swihart grounded out to second but Phillips scored and the runners moved up. Vazquez lined out to the mound to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 8-3.
Kyle Higashioka pinch hit for Stanton in the top of the ninth and flied out to left to start. Hechavarria flied out to right but Andujar doubled to chase Velazquez. Robby Scott came in and struck out Bird to end the inning. Jonathan Holder had the bottom of the ninth and the Sox refused to go quietly. Lin hit a ground rule double and Holt smashed a 2 run bomb to right to inch the Sox closer. How big were the runs given up by Workman now?
Travis singled but Phillips whiffed. For whatever reason Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in the damn closer, Aroldis Chapman to "save" this meaningless game. Moreland whiffed but Kinsler walked to bring the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately JBJ whiffed to end the game and the Yankees had won it 8-5.
Jackass of the Night is Brandon Workman. The 3 runs he allowed put the game out of reach in the top of the fifth inning.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 3 with an rbi.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Brock Holt was 2 for 5 including a 2 run home run.
Sam Travis was 1 for 3.
Brandon Phillips walked and scored a run in two plate appearances.
Ian Kinsler was 1 for 2 with 3 walks with a stolen base and a run scored.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless 6th inning.
Hector Velazquez tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Robby Scott struck out the only man he faced.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with an error and 2 strikeouts.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed 3 runs in just 2 innings.
Steven Wright pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 with an error but drove in a run and stole a base.
Blake Swihart was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drive in a run and scored.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and stole a base.
Nathan Eovaldi allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
Even though the final game of the regular season doesn't mean anything, the winner will have won the season series as both teams will be heading in 9-9 against each other. The Yankees' pathetic record against the Baltimore Orioles and other cellar dwelling teams is the reason why they're in the wild card game this Wednesday night. The Sox once again looked pedestrian but nobody got hurt so who cares. These are the dog days of the season and luckily there's only one more meaningless game before they start to matter again. It was funny to see the rifle armed fan peg Stanton at second and Holt's homer made some of the Yankees media nervous but apart from that, the less said of this nonsensical nonsense the better. Tomorrow afternoon the regular season finally comes to an end and bragging rights is on the line as Luis Cessa gets the start for the Yankees opposite "Slick" Rick Porcello at 3:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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