Dan Martin, Post:
Evidently, John Henry still owns the Red Sox — not J.A. Happ.Kristie Ackert, Daily News:
Much had been made of Happ's history against Boston and the fact he was well-suited to containing Boston’s lineup at Fenway Park in Game 1 of the ALDS.
But as is often the case in October, previous numbers didn't amount to much, especially when J.D. Martinez came to the plate with two on and one out in the bottom of the first inning in Boston's 5-4 win.
Martinez turned on a 2-0 fastball and drilled it over the Green Monster in left to give the Red Sox a quick 3-0 lead. ...
Though the left-hander got out of that inning without further damage and then retired the side in order in the second, he failed to record an out in the bottom of the third.
Mookie Betts started the inning with a double and moved to third on Andrew Benintendi's bunt single, forcing manager Aaron Boone to go to Chad Green after Happ threw just 44 pitches — and recorded just six outs. ...
[Chad] Green wasn't able to bail out Happ, as he allowed a run-scoring single to Steve Pearce and a sacrifice fly to Xander Bogaerts. All five runs were charged to Happ, in what turned out to be his worst performance of the year.
It didn't take long to figure out that J.A. Happ didn't have it Friday night. The veteran lefty could not command his fastball and struggled to get ahead of the dangerous top of the Red Sox lineup. With two on and one out in the first inning, Happ dropped a fastball low in the zone against Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez.
The Red Sox slugger dug down and crushed a three-run homer over the Green Monster to stun Happ and send the Yankees scrambling. ...
Friday night was a huge blown opportunity for the Yankees. Not only were the Bombers unable to capitalize on their many chances against Boston's shaky bullpen, but they lost with the pitcher that they thought gave them the best chance to hold this dangerous lineup in check. Now, Saturday becomes a must-win game for the Yankees ...
The Yankees went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. After scoring two, the Yankees left the bases loaded in the sixth on Gleyber Torres' strikeout. ...
Friday had been seemingly set up perfectly for the Yankees, who wanted Happ on the mound for this game because of his history. ...
The Yankees have to hope they can get this series to a Game 5 now.
[W]hen [the Yankees] fell behind the Red Sox by five runs in the third inning of Friday night's Game 1 of the ALDS, they weren't buried because Fenway Park produces home runs and the Yankees' bullpen is one of the best.
The bullpen did its part by not allowing the Red Sox to score another run. The lineup, however, found the sledgehammers replaced by butter knives and were the primary reason for a 5-4 loss ...
The Yankees loaded the bases against Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes in the seventh, but scored only a run because Giancarlo Stanton whiffed, Voit forced in a run with a fielder's choice and Gregorius grounded out to the right side. ...
When Gleyber Torres, who struck out with the bases loaded for the final out of the sixth, reached on a two-out infield single in the eighth, Cora called for closer Craig Kimbrel, who retired Andrew McCutchen on a routine fly to right. ...
[Aaron Boone:] "I thought we did a really good job of pecking away ... [we] just ran out of time there."
That's what happens when sledgehammers turn into butter knives because the ditch Happ drove the Yankees into proved to be too deep.
The Yankees ignored Justin Verlander during the 2017 season because, yes, they thought he was down from his peak ...Ken Davidoff, Post:
Houston landed Verlander as August 2017 ended and he proved seminal in eliminating the Yankees in the ALCS and winning the Astros’ first-ever title. ...
Verlander cost $20 million for 2018 — or $2 million less than what Stanton costs the Yankees this season for luxury-tax purposes. You know who else costs $22 million for tax purposes? J.D. Martinez, who inked a five-year, $110 million free-agent contract last offseason ...
Verlander might win another Cy Young and Martinez has been in the MVP discussion. Stanton was good ... but not in that award kind of way.
He could make that narrative all vanish with a big postseason. But in his first taste of Yankees-Red Sox playoff intensity, he lost his matchup against Martinez and the Yankees, not coincidentally, lost Division Series Game 1.
Martinez hit a three-run homer in the first to put Boston ahead to stay. Stanton struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth and again on three pitches as the tying run in the ninth against Craig Kimbrel, his fourth whiff of the game. ...
J.A. Happ ... surrendered a homer to Martinez and never got an out in the third, his performance not all that dissimilar to the Kevin Brown disaster in 2004 ALCS Game 7 — the last game these rivals had played against one another in the playoffs before Friday. ...
Stanton had his biggest at-bats to date as a Yankee end in a few more strikeouts. He lost his heavyweight matchup against Martinez and the Yankees lost a game.
Baseball's biggest house of cards can be described in two words: October health. ...Dan Martin, Post:
Chris Sale looked healthy, and Aaron Hicks didn't.
Sale shut down the Yankees, the underrated Hicks departed with right hamstring tightness and the Red Sox bullpen bent without breaking as the Yankees lost American League Division Series Game 1 ...
If the Yankees can't even this up Saturday night against old pal David Price … well, they did overcome a 2-0 ALDS deficit last year against [Cleveland], but do they really want to attempt that high-wire act again? ...
[T]he Yankees ... know that negativity can snowball quickly in these short series. Can they restore their house of cards in time, especially knowing that a restored Sale awaits them in the potential Game 5?
The Yankees didn't just lose Game 1 of the ALDS to the Red Sox on Friday night, they also lost their center fielder.
Aaron Hicks left the 5-4 loss at Fenway Park with tightness in his right hamstring ...
Hicks' departure just added to the Yankees' woes in a miserable series-opener. J.A. Happ was pummeled for five runs over just two-plus innings by the Red Sox and Chad Green allowed both of his inherited runners to score in the third.
And the Yankees' lineup, which was expected to go toe-to-toe with Boston, was once again dominated by Sale, who showed no signs of being affected by the shoulder inflammation that bothered him in the latter part of the season.
[T]his series is yet another referendum on what would otherwise be considered outstanding seasons for both teams.Bill Madden, Daily News (Before Game 1):
Only this time, the heat is all on the Red Sox. ...
With three of the five games to be played at Fenway, where they played .700 ball this season, the pressure will be all on the Red Sox to vanquish the Yankees and move on to the ALCS.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have already validated their season by getting to the DS; there will be no disgrace in losing a best of five series to the team with the best record in baseball on their home field.
And yet, the indications are that, home-field advantage aside, the Yankees have the edge in this one. ...
With Boston ace Chris Sale looking diminished since coming off the disabled list with a sore shoulder in August – his fastball topped out at 90 MPH in his final start of the season – and David Price a basket case when it comes to facing the Yankees, there's little doubt that the better pitching staff resides in the Bronx. ...
The guess here is that the Yankees will up to the task of beating Boston in say, five games, and advance to the ALCS.
[T]hese Yankees seem poised now for a run deep into October – thanks in large part to the July trades of GM Brian Cashman ... At every sign of leakage, Cashman acted and now it appears they are all coming together at precisely the right time.
At the same time, the Red Sox, despite their major league-leading 108 wins have major pitching issues. Their ace, Chris Sale, pitched only 14 innings in September and it is questionable how many he will be able to give them in Game 1 Friday night.
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