Sale came out throwing bullets in the top of the first inning, surprising the Yankees completely. Andrew McCutchen was frozen for strike three before Aaron Judge took strike three as well. Aaron Hicks walked but Giancarlo Stanton whiffed to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Happ in the bottom of the first inning although Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed to start. Andrew Benintendi got the rally started with a base hit and a stolen base. Steve Pearce walked and JD Martinez belted a 3 run bomb into the Monster Seats to put the Sox on top. Xander Bogaerts popped up to first and Eduardo Nunez lined out to right to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.
Luke Voit tried to start a rally with a base hit to begin the top of the second but Didi Gregorius whiffed. Miguel Andujar banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Ian Kinsler whiffed to start. Sandy Leon flied out to left and Jackie Bradley Jr grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Sale's pitch count rose but so did his velocity in the top of the third inning. Gary Sanchez looked at strike three to begin but Gleyber Torres walked. McCutchen lined out to right and Judge grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox chased Happ in the bottom of the third inning as Mr. Mookie doubled to begin. Benitendi singled Betts to third and that was it for Happ. Chad Green was brought in and Pearce greeted him with an rbi single to score Betts and Benintendi moved to third on the Martinez fly out to right. Bogaerts scored Benintendi with a sac fly to increase the lead. Nunez popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
The Yankees were struck a blow when Hicks singled but pulled up lame in the top of the fourth. Brett Gardner had to replace Hicks on the bases and Stanton whiffed. Voit whiffed but Gregorius singled. Andujar whiffed to end the inning. The Sox blew a big chance in the bottom of the fourth as Kinsler singled to start. Leon advanced Kinsler to second with a bunt but JBJ popped up to short. Mr. Mookie was intentionally walked but Benintendi grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sale had a quick top of the fifth as Sanchez grounded out to second on the first pitch. Torres also grounded back to the mound and Mr. Mookie made a great play on McCutchen to end the inning. Lance Lynn took over for the bottom of the fifth as some fan ran onto the field to chase a bird. Alert Fenway security seized the intruder and wrestled him to the ground. When action resumed Pearce grounded out to third. Martinez lined out to first but Bogaerts singled. Nunez grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Sale came back for the top of the sixth but was chased early in a huge Yankees rally. Judge got the rally started with a single but was erased on the force by Gardner. Stanton singled and that was it for Sale. He went 5 1/3 innings and was charged with 2 runs.
Ryan Brasier was summoned to put out the fire and naturally Voit singled home Gardner. Gregorius beat out a double play ball to score Stanton and close the book on Sale. A wild pitch moved Gregorius to second and Andujar walked to chase the incompetent Brasier. He was called in to get two outs and ended up allowing both inherited runners to score and put two of his own on. Brandon Workman came in and was even worse than Brasier, walking Sanchez on four pitches not even close to load the bases. Workman somehow fooled Torres with a 3-2 curve to end the inning but it was 5-2 Sox and time to buckle up.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Kinsler whiffed to start. Leon grounded out to first but JBJ walked. Mr. Mookie looked at strike three to end the inning.
The Yankees blew their best chance in the top of the seventh inning when McCutchen and Judge stroked back to back singles off Workman to open. Matt Barnes came in and walked Gardner to load the bases for Stanton. Somehow Barnes punched Stanton out but Voit beat out a double play ball to score McCutchen and inch the Yankees closer. Barnes got Gregorius to ground out to second to end the inning but it was 5-3 Yankees and the gap was closing.
Zach Britton came in for the bottom of the seventh inning and Benintendi grounded out to second to begin. Pearce whiffed but Martinez singled to right. Bogaerts grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Britton wanted the ball after the inning, hopefully mailing it to Buck Showalter after the game.
Mitch Moreland came in for defense at first and none other than "Slick" Rick Porcello was summoned to stop the madness in the top of the eighth. Rick managed to get Andujar to ground back to the mound to start before Sanchez lined out to third. Sox manager Alex Cora threw his hands up when Torres beat out an infield single to third and brought in Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel for the four out save. Kimbrel got McCutchen to fly out to right to end the inning. David Robertson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Nunez whiffed to start. Kinsler whiffed and Leon flied out to right to end the inning. Not a single Sox batter reached second base after the third innings.
Kimbrel came back from the ninth but Judge had a nasty surprise in the form of an opposite field home run to begin the inning. Somehow Kimbrel blew away Gardner and then Stanton, giving Giancarlo the golden sombrero. One out away from victory Kimbrel blew away Voit to end the game. Somehow the Sox had held on to win the game 5-4 and grab a 1-0 Series lead.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. After barely pitching since the end of July, he held the powerful Yankees lineup to 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first post-season win.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Steve Pearce was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a 3 run bomb.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Matt Barnes pitched a full scoreless inning.
Rick Porcello retired two of the three men he faced.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3.
Ryan Brasier allowed 2 inherited runners to score and one of his own in 1/3 of an inning.
Brandon Workman allowed a run in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Ian Kinsler was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 but walked.
Craig Kimbrel allowed a solo home run but got the save in 1 1/3 innings pitched.
Honorable Mention:
Mitch Moreland played first base in the last two innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was really ugly but a win is a win. Starting off the Series with a W is a huge improvement over the last two years and against the Yankees it means that much more. Sale proved a lot of doubters wrong by turning up the heat even if Dr. Quick Hook yanked him too early. The bullpen is going to be a fatal flaw just like in 1986 but when the shoe drops will be answered soon. If the Sox could barely protect a 5 run lead from the 6th inning on, how are they gonna do it in one run games? Once again Mr. Mookie still doesn't have an rbi but maybe tomorrow night will be his chance. Speaking of tomorrow night, David Price has a chance to redeem himself after 3 years of doubters and sub-par stats against the Yankees. Price will go up against Masahiro Tanaka who usually pitches well at Fenway. If there was ever a time to pitch a 7 inning shut-out, it would be tomorrow night at 8:15 at Fenway Park.
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