As for the game, looks like the Red Sox aren't the only team totally useless without their best hitters in the lineup. The New York Yankees looked punchless without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in tonight's game against Payton Tolle (4-5, 2.78 ERA) and the Red Sox. Tolle retired the first 16 batters he faced before Spencer Jones broke up the perfect game in the sixth inning. Tolle ended up firing 7 innings of 1 hit ball. Meanwhile the Sox actually got clutch hits against Yankees starter Will Warren. Wilyer Abreu got a two out rbi in the first and both Tsung-Chen Cheng and Mickey Gasper drove in runs in the third. A Willson Contreras home run and 2 rbis from Connor Wong were enough for the Sox to survive Tommy Kahnle giving up a run in the eighth. Ryan Watson slammed the door and the Sox had beaten the Yankees 6-1 at Fenway Park.
Tolle got the ball in the top of the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt popped up to second to start. Amed Rosario struck out swinging and Cody Bellinger grounded out to second to end the inning. Warren got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mickey Gasper led off by grounding out to second. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third but Wilyer Abreu tripled into the centerfield triangle. Naturally with a runner on third Willson Contreras....got a base hit to center to score Abreu? What witchcraft is this? Jarren Duran forced Willson at second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Jasson Dominguez struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Jose Caballero also went down hacking. Jazz Chisholm Jr swung at air for strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Caleb Durbin caught Caballero asleep at third with a bunt single. Anthony Seigler got a base hit to center to move Durbin to third and Connor Wong walked to load the bases. Tsung-Che Cheng made his Sox debut by beating out a double play ball to score Durbin. Gasper beat out a double play ball to score Seigler and Rafaela popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Anthony Volpe struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Spencer Jones flied out to left. Ali Sanchez flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the third as Abreu grounded out to second to start. Contreras then launched his 17th home run of the season to increase the lead. Duran lined out to center and Durbin lined out to center to end the inning but the Sox now led 4-0.
Goldschmidt grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth and Rosario flied out to center. Bellinger lined out to center to end the inning. Seigler flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Wong popped up to second. Cheng doubled to center but Gasper grounded out to second to end the inning.
Dominguez grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Caballero flied out to center. Chisholm Jr popped up to second to end the inning and Tolle was perfect through five innings. Rafaela grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Abreu lined out to right. Contreras walked and apparently Warren didn't like his bat flip. Contreras politely asked if Warren wanted to do something about it and the benches emptied. Nothing came of it but Duran grounded out to second to end the inning.
Volpe struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth but Spencer broke up the perfect game with a base hit to left. Sanchez lined out to second and Goldschmidt struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Durbin doubled to center to start. Seigler grounded out to short and Wong hit a sac fly to center to score Durbin. Cheng walked and that was it for Warren. Ryan Yarbrough came in to face Gasper and Cheng immediately got picked off to end the inning with the Sox up 5-0.
Rosario popped up to right to start the top of the seventh and Bellinger popped up to short. Dominguez and Caballero drew back to back walks, but Chisholm flied out to center to end the inning. That was it for Tolle who held the Yankees to just 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings while striking out 7.
Gasper flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh and Rafaela grounded out to first. Abreu walked but Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tommy Kahnle came in to pitch the top of the eighth and naturally Volpe doubled to center to start. Jones grounded out to second to move Volpe to third and Austin Wells pinch hit for Sanchez. Wells grounded out to second to score Volpe but Goldschmidt grounded out to second to end the inning with the Yankees down 5-1.
Duran got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the eighth and Yerry de Los Santos came in to face Durbin. It looked like Duran swiped second but Yankees manager Aaron Boone challenged Duran was out. Replays showed....he was safe? A rare break for the Sox. Naturally Durbin fouled off the bunt attempt and struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt. Seigler did what Durbin was supposed to and ground out to first to move Duran to third, but now there were two outs. Naturally Wong....got a base hit to left to score Duran. More witchcraft! Cheng flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Ryan Watson came in to close out the top of the ninth and Ben Rice pinch hit for Rosario. Rice grounded out to second and Bellinger lined out to third. Domiguez hit a ground rule double down the right field line but Caballero flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1.
Hero of The Night is Payton Tolle. He held the Yankees to 1 hit in 7 shutout innings off a hit and 2 walks.
The Good:
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Willson Contreras was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total rbis.
Chad Durbin was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Connor Wong was 1 for 2 with a walk and 2 rbis.
Tsung-Chen Cheng was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Ryan Watson tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.
Tommy Kahnle allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Ugly:
Mickey Gasper was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 but stole a base and scored a run.
Anthony Seigler was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
If there was such a thing as a hollow victory, this was it. The Yankees were without Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge and Ben Rice sat for most of the game. Still, the Sox haven't had their best hitters or their ace available in a long time either. Still, this was the most fun game of the season for a variety of reasons. Tolle mowing down the Yankees, even without Judge & Stanton a day after Early did the same at least gives hope for the future if and when the Sox get a competent offense. Contreras was just begging to fight someone and the fact it was the Yankees will definitely make him a fan favorite forever if it did come for that. Joe Kelly never has to pay for a beer in Boston ever again. Tsung-Chen Cheng has been on the team five minutes and he already has a walk and an rbi, two things most Sox hitters rarely get these days. Too bad about Mayer but maybe its addition by subtraction at this point, the same with Trevor Story and Roman Anthony who weren't hitting well before they went down. Not that you want to see a team of utility players, but even guys hitting .240 were better than what Mayer, Story and Anthony were giving them. The last one left is Duran hitting .201 and he's the saddest of them all. If he was hitting anywhere close to his 2023-25 form, he'd be the catalyst of his offense. The only other piece of good news is Romy Gonzalez is coming back which means most likely Gasper is gone. The Sox can survive with Wong and Narvaez, and Wong has been picking it up lately. All in all just a PASSABLE offense would have this team in playoff contention and if they don't sell their guys, they just might go on a run. The win improved the Sox to 34-46, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Yankees out of Fenway tomorrow afternoon when Jake Bennett (1-3, 3.71) takes on Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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