Yankees - 000 010 530 - 9 15 0 Red Sox - 001 102 000 - 4 9 0
This loss to the hapless Yankees in which a 4-1 lead turned into a 9-4 loss - was an utter shitshow that lasted an interminable 4:15. And it could turn out to be one of the season's worst losses. David Ortiz fouled a pitch off his right shin just below the knee in the ninth inning. Big Papi was in considerable pain and needed assistance getting off the field. He moved very slowly in making his way down the dugout steps. (Also, Mookie Betts left the game after six innings with stiffness in his calf.)
(Update: Initial x-rays on Ortiz's shin were negative, ruling out a fracture. Manager John Farrell said the shin was already bruised from a foul ball several games ago.)
The Red Sox squandered numerous scoring chances in the middle innings, leaving nine men on base over four innings. They stranded two men in the third, two in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the sixth. In the fifth, they loaded the bases with no one out and (yet again) could not score. Three of their four runs scored not on hits, but on fielder's choice grounders.
Still, Boston led 2-0 and 4-1 and Drew Pomeranz did all right (5.1-6-1-1-5, 93). Clay Buchholz, who will start on Saturday because Steven Wright has some shoulder inflammation from a pinch-running adventure in Dodger Stadium last Sunday, got out of trouble in the sixth by getting a double play. Then Red Sox fans were treated to this:
Matt Barnes: 4 batters faced, 3 hits, 3 runs allowedThe Yankees sent ten men to the plate in the crucial seventh inning. After getting the second out, the Red Sox had 20 chances to end the inning. By the time they did, New York led 6-4. (Alex Rodriguez pinch-hit during the seventh and was loudly booed both while on deck and after he flew out to right.)
Fernando Abad: 3 batters faced, 2 hits, 2 runs allowed
Junichi Tazawa: 5 batters faced, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs allowed
Robbie Ross: 5 batters faced, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 run allowed, 3 wild pitches
And all this happened on a night that the Yankees' starter left after one inning. Natahn Eovaldi retired the Red Sox in order in the first, but left with "elbow discomfort". Joe Girardi used seven relievers over the next eight innings.
Betts had two doubles and an RBI before leaving the game. ... Sandy Leon had two singles, a walk, and two runs scored. ... Ortiz walked three times, two of them intentionally. ... Andrew Benintendi, Dustin Pedroia, and Xander Bogaerts drove in one run each.
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF
Speier on Benintendi:
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday, in his fourth career start and sixth career game, he collected another three hits, becoming the first Red Sox player since at least 1913 with back-to-back three-hit games among his first six career games and the second Sox player in that time with two three-hit games in his first six career contests, a distinction in which he joins Jody Reed (1987). ...
Of Benintendi’s eight hits (in 16 at-bats), three have been to left, one to center, and four to the right side. He has hits on two- and four-seam fastballs (1 each), splitters (1), cutters (2), sliders (2), changeups (1), and curveballs (1). In a brief, brief glimpse, he has been more than just a fastball hitter; he’s shown the ability to hit every pitch type in different parts of the strike zone.
Anyone who wondered what it meant when he was described as a hitter with an advanced approach and a standout hit tool now have a glimpse of an answer at the big league level in a way that suggests an ability to make a near-term impact.
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Well, Abad has been a bust so far.
ReplyDeleteGreat pic
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