The Sox wasted no time getting to Cole to start the top of the first inning as Enrique Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Tommy Pham belted his 17th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Alex Verdugo doubled to right but JD Martinez grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Hill got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Aaron Judge struck out swinging to start. Giancarlo Stanton flied out to right and Gleyber Torres grounded out to third to end the inning.
Triston Casas struck out swinging to open the top of the second and Rob Refsnyder grounded out to first. Reese McGuire popped up to center to end the inning. Josh Donaldson flied out to right to begin the bottom of the second but Oswaldo Cabrera singled to right. Jose Trevino flied out to left and Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yu Chang grounded out to short to start the top of the third but Hernandez singled to center. Devers struck out swinging and Hernandez was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the third as Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. Aaron Hicks hit a home run all the way to Neptune to tie the game. Judge flied out to left and Stanton popped up to short to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Pham lined out to left to start the top of the fourth and Verdugo took strike three. Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Torres walked to begin the bottom of the fourth but was immediately picked off. Donaldson singled to center and Refsnyder booted the ball for an error. Cabrera and Trevino both flied out to center to end the inning.
Casas walked to begin the top of the fifth but Refsnyder lined out to short. McGuire grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Yankees took command in the bottom of the fifth as Kiner singled to center to start. Gonzalez walked and Hicks got a base hit to left to score Kiner. Judge struck out swinging and Stanton flied out to right to move Gonzalez to third. Torres got a base hit to left and Pham threw the ball away to allow Gonzalez & Hicks to score. Donaldson grounded out to short to end the inning with the Yankees up 4-1. That was it for Hill who allowed 4 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks.
Suddenly the Sox answered in the top of the sixth as Chang struck out swinging to start. Hernandez doubled to right and Devers walked, but Pham struck out swinging. Verdugo then launched his 10th home run of the season to tie the game. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Cabrera flied out to center to start. Trevino struck out swinging and Kiner popped up to short to end the inning.
Ron Marinaccio came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Casas walked. Refsnyder and McGuire both struck out swinging before Chang grounded out to second to end the inning. Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Gonzalez popped up to third to start. Hicks took strike three but Judge got a base hit to left. Stanton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jonathan Loaisiga came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Hernandez grounded out to third to start. Devers and Pham both grounded out to first to end the inning. Matt Strahm came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Torres struck out looking to start. Donaldson grounded out to short but Harrison Bader pinch hit for Cabrera. Bader walked and Strahm threw the pickoff throw away to move Bader to third. Trevino ripped a base hit to center to score Bader to put the Yankees up for good. Kiner walked and Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 5-4.
Yankees take the lead
Verdugo struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth but Martinez singled inside the third base bag. Bobby Dalbec ran for Martinez and Casas singled to right. Abraham Almonte pinch hit for Refsnyder with Connor Wong pinch running for Casas. Almonte took strike three and McGuire grounded out to first to end the game. The Yankees had won it 5-4.
Yankees win
Thanks a lot, Jackass
Jackass of The Night is Matt Strahm. He allowed the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth partly due to his own error.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a 3 run home run.
Triston Casas was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless inning.
Kaleb Ort pitched a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 with an error and a strikeout.
Abraham Almonte struck out as a pinch hitter.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
You Chang was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Rich Hill allowed 4 runs in 5 innings off 6 hits and 2 walks.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored.
Tommy Pham was just 1 for 4 with 2 errors but the one hit was a home run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Connor Wong ran for Triston Casas in the ninth.
Bobby Dalbec pinch ran for JD Martinez in the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Now that the Red Sox are just about mathematically eliminated, the Sox have to look to next year to right the ship. Chaim Bloom went cheap by going after Michael Wacha, James Paxton and Rich Hill and paid for it. When Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Sale went down, the season was over right then and there. They got absolutely murdered by the AL East in June and July and never really could beat the teams after August either. The Yankees just won back to back games in the late innings and it has to be in the minds of the players themselves. Just when they think they can win, everything goes wrong. Matt Strahm has been solid all year and now this happens. Alex Cora pinch hitting Abraham Almonte in the ninth was inexcusable but that's more to do with his limitations than anything. He deserves to be fired for blowing last year's ALCS but the starting rotation was decimated this year, I doubt they'll fire him for something out of his control. One thing is for sure, Bloom & the Red Sox need to spend actual money this off-season. The rumors are that Eovaldi, Bogaerts and Martinez are gonners and if that's true, why bother watching next year? Rolling out a broken down Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, etc doesn't exactly inspire confidence. The less said, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-78, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to salvage this series tomorrow afternoon when Nick Pivetta gets the ball for the Sox against Domingo German of New York. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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