Its about time the Boston Red Sox made a statement against the AL East. After taking 2 of 3 last week from the New York Yankees, the Sox swept a doubleheader today against the Yankees including tonight's Game 2. Brayan Bello (4-4, 3.49 ERA) tossed 7 superb innings and held the Yankees to just a first inning run in the process. An Enrique Hernandez rbi double off Luis Severino tied it in the bottom of the second and some Kyle Higashioka interference scored Alex Verdugo in the bottom of the fourth. Triston Casas hit a 2 run double in the bottom of the fifth and that was all the offense Boston needed. Josh Winckowski and Kenley Jansen slammed the door as the Sox took Game 2 of the doubleheader 6-2 at Fenway Park.
The Yankees struck first in the top of the first inning as Jake Bauers walked to start. Gleyber Torres doubled off the glove of Jarren Duran and Anthony Rizzo grounded out to second to score Bauers. Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging and Josh Donaldson grounded out to first to end the inning with the Yankees up 1-0.
Yankees strike first
Severino got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran got a base hit to center to start. Justin Turner struck out swinging and Duran got picked off. Alex Verdugo flied out to left to end the inning.
Billy McKinney grounded out to first to start the top of the second and Oswaldo Cabrera lined out to short. Kyle Higashioka struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers singled to center to start. Rob Refsnyder dropped down a bunt to move him to second but Triston Casas struck out swinging. Enrique Hernandez doubled off the Monster to score Rafael to tie the game, but Reese McGuire grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Anthony Volpe grounded out to third to start the top of the third but Bauers singled in the hole at second. Bauers stole second but Torres struck out swinging. Rizzo flied out to center to end the inning. Pablo Reyes struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Duran lined out to second. Turner struck out swinging to end the inning.
Stanton struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Donaldson walked. McKinney took strike three and Donaldson was picked off to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Verdugo got a base hit to left to start. Devers popped up to third and Refsnyder got a base hit to right. Casas walked to load the bases but Hernandez popped up to first. Higashioka interfered with McGuire and Verdugo scored to put the Sox on top. Reyes flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Cabrera grounded out to first to start the top of the fifth and Higashioka popped up to short. Volpe struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Duran walked to start. Turner struck out swinging but Duran stole second. Verdugo blooped a base hit to left and Devers walked to load the bases. Refsynder struck out swinging but Casas hit a ground rule double down the right field line to score both Duran and Verdugo. Hernandez flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 4-1.
Casas drives in a pair
Bauers grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth but Torres doubled to center. Rizzo grounded out to first to move Torres to third and Stanton walked. Donaldson grounded out to short to end the inning. Ron Marinaccio came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and McGuire singled in the hole to short. McGuire was thrown out at second trying to steal and Reyes struck out swinging. Duran also struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bello returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh as McKinney got a base hit to center to start. Casas fielded a grounder by Cabrera and did nothing with it, but wasn't charged with an error. Willie Calhoun pinch hit for Higashioka and struck out swinging before Volpe beat out a double play ball. Volpe took second but Bauers struck out swinging to end the inning. That was it for Bello who dominated the Yankees for 7 innings allowing 1 run off 4 hits and 3 walks.
Wandy Peralta came in to pitch with Jose Trevino behind the plate for the bottom of the seventh. Turner grounded out to third, Verdugo grounded out to second and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning.
Josh Winckowski came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Torres popped up to second to start. Rizzo was hit with a pitch but Stanton struck out swinging. Donaldson forced Rizzo at second to end the inning. Tommy Kahnle came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Casas took strike three and Hernandez also went down hacking to end the inning.
Kenley Jansen came in to close out the top of the ninth with Christian Arroyo in for Refsnyder. McKinney grounded out to first to start and Cabrera took strike three. Trevino singled to right and moved to second on a wild pitch, but Volpe struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-1.
Hero of The Night is Brayan Bello. He held the Yankees to one run off 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings.
The Hero was fired up
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3.
Triston Casas was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 rbis.
Reese McGuire was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Josh Winckowski tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen earned his 15th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Enrique Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Arroyo played second in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like shoving it up the ass of the Yankees is there? Yankee fans saying "Sevy>Bello" on social media might be re-thinking that after this game. The Sox aren't that far behind the Yankees in the standings and they're just about to catch them if the Sox can keep the momentum going. Another big factor in today's win was the relief pitching. Winckowski and Jansen were the 8-9 punch and both locked it down. What a turnaround for Bello and Winckowski this season as both were thrust into the rotation in the middle of a pennant race last year (and Connor Seabold) and failed miserably. Winckowski now as a late inning reliever has found life and Bello turned it around out of the rotation. Hopefully both can continue to pitch well because it'll shorten games like this one. Another one who's turned it around is Duran who's hitting .288 out of the leadoff spot. He was left for dead after last year as well. All in all beating the Yankees is always fun and doing it twice in the same day is double the fun. The win improved the Sox to 37-35, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to Minnesota for a three game set with the Twins beginning tomorrow night. James Paxton (2-1) goes for the Sox against Pablo Lopez of Minnesota. The game begins at 7:41 PM Eastern time at Target Field.
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