The Red Sox ran the Yankees out of the building on Sunday night at Fenway Park.
Wreaking havoc on the bases with nine steals against [catcher] Jose Trevino and his pitchers, the Red Sox manufactured their way to a 9-3 win to take the series in front of a sellout crowd of 36,718. . . .
With their team speed on display throughout the night, which continually set them up with runners in scoring position, the Red Sox's nine stolen bases broke a single-game franchise record.
They were also the most steals the Yankees have allowed since 1915, when they also let up nine, which is tied for the second-most in franchise history.
The Red Sox took advantage of Trevino, who entered the night with the weakest throwing arm among 60 qualified catchers this season, according to Statcast.
Opponents were 19-for-28 stealing bases against him coming into Sunday before the Red Sox went 9-for-10 (with Marcus Stroman catching one before he delivered to the plate). . . .
Trevino and Stroman were the battery for the first six steals before the Red Sox swiped three more against the Yankees' bullpen. . . .
[T]he Yankees blew a key chance to tie the game or take the lead in the seventh, when they had the bases loaded with no outs and could not score against reliever Zack Kelly.
Gleyber Torres went from a 3-0 count to chasing a pitch in the dirt for strike three before Trevino struck out on three pitches and DJ LeMahieu lined out to center field.
To make matters worse, the Yankees lost Anthony Rizzo to a right lower-arm injury after a collision at first base in the top of the seventh. Rizzo . . . left the game in visible pain.
The Red Sox then blew the game open by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the eighth, all while continuing to run wild and create scoring chances at will.
Gary Phillips, Daily News:
The Red Sox showed off their wheels on Sunday, stealing a franchise-record nine bases and a series from the Yankees with a 9-3 win at Fenway Park.
Boston took full advantage of Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, who ranks second-to-last in pop time to second base (2.07 seconds) and dead last in arm strength (71.3 mph) among catchers. . . . [F]our of their runs followed stolen bases.
"Gotta make better throws," said Trevino . . .
David Hamilton led the way for the Red Sox, swiping four bags and scoring three runs. Two of his steals came in the fifth inning, when he took second and third. Jarren Duran had two steals, while Dominic Smith, Ceddanne Rafaela and Bobby Dalbec each added one.
Marcus Stroman . . . did nab one would-be base-stealer by stepping off the mound, [but] the righty surrendered seven hits and four walks over five innings.
Boston first scored in the second inning when Ceddanne Rafaela plated two with a single. A double play led to another run in the third, while Rafael Devers brought a run in with a sac fly in the fifth.
With Luke Weaver on the mound in the seventh, Devers knocked an RBI single before Connor Wong lined a two-run triple, which Alex Verdugo took a poor route to in right field. . . .
Hamilton added an RBI single to his impressive night in the eighth. Wong then singled him home.
The Yankees had a chance to tack on in the seventh, as they had the bases loaded with nobody out.
However, Gleyber Torres turned a 3-0 count into a strikeout. Trevino then fanned on three pitches before DJ LeMahieu lined out to center, which sparked a animated scream from Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly.
The Red Sox's previous record for stolen bases in a game was eight, in Game 2 of a September 29, 1940, doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics. And they did it in only seven innings!
Way back on June 28, 1907, the Yankees (then known as the Highlanders) allowed 13 stolen bases in a 16-5 loss to Washington. The Highlanders' catcher on that afternoon was Branch Rickey. (Yes, that Branch Rickey).
The only games I've watched this year have been from the stands at Fenway (five to date), so I was only tracking via GDGD Sunday evening. I checked the box score at one point late in the game and did a double take when I saw that Boston had nine stolen bases(!). This was the team that I remember being dead last for stolen bases in the entire decade of the 1980s.
ReplyDeleteIn part, the fact that the Sox have almost no shot at the postseason this year means that Cora can just go for broke and try something more unconventional. It obviously caught the MFY off-guard.