G19: Yankees 5, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 120 000 000 - 3  8  1
Yankees - 000 100 40x - 5  5  0

After Brandon Workman loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on a single and two walks, Ryan Brasier gave up a grand slam to Brett Gardner. The game-changing dong came on a batting practice fastball thrown on an 0-2 count.

Brasier struck out the next two batters, but the damage had been done. The horse was out of the barn. It had jumped the fence and was currently halfway to the next town. And then the barn caught fire and burned to the ground.

Gardner's hit traveled only 364 feet. In Fenway Park, that's a routine fly ball caught 16 feet in front of the bullpen. What became Gardner's 100th career home run wouldn't even have reached Fenway's warning track.

The Red Sox took an early 3-0 lead against J.A. Happ. J.D. Martinez belted a first-pitch home run to center field and Christian Vazquez had gone deep to right field with Mitch Moreland on first base in the second. The Boston bats did not make much noise after that.

The Yankees got one run in the fourth when Luke Voit walked, went to second when Eduardo Nunez committed an error at second base, and scored on Clint Frazier's double down the left field line. That unearned run was the only blemish on Nathan Eovaldi's (6-3-1-1-6, 104) day. Dustin Pedroia had started the game at second, but was pulled in the middle of the second with "left knee discomfort". If Pedroia goes back on the IL, Tzu-Wei Lin may be called up.

When Rafael Devers singled with one out in the top of the seventh, MFY manager Aaron Boone pulled Happ (6.1-6-3-1-4, 84) and went with reliever Tommy Kahnle. Devers swiped second on the first pitch to Vazquez, but Kahnle got SNCV on a grounder to shortstop and struck out Jackie Bradley.

Frazier greeted Workman with a single in the seventh. Workman then walked Mike Tauchman and Austin Romine, five pitches each, which is unforgivable. (Ball 3 to Tauchman was a strike, but whatever.) Brasier got a called strike and a foul ball against Gardner before putting a 97 mph fastball on a fucking tee:

After Gardner's slam, the Red Sox loaded the bases in the eighth. After Mookie Betts struck out looking and Xander Bogaerts flied to right, Adam Ottavino gave up singles to Martinez and Steve Pearce. Moreland looked bad swinging and missing a low slider, running the count to 2-2, but he was able to work a walk.

That was the seventh walk Ottavino had handed out in only 8.2 innings this season. It's pretty much the only thing New York's #0 has done wrong this year. So what was Nunez's plan at the plate? I can only assume it was to end the inning as soon as possible. Nunez hacked at the first pitch, a low slider near the far corner of the strike zone, and sent a harmless fly ball to Aaron Judge in right field. Nunez is now hitting .159, with one walk in 46 plate appearances.

The Red Sox had been one of two teams without a blown save this season, but they haven't really been in a position to blow a save very often.

The team is off tomorrow before playing the first of three games in Tampa Bay on Friday night. The Rays (14-4) have allowed 76 fewer runs than Boston in only 18 games (43 vs 119) and lead MLB with a scant 2.38 runs allowed per game.

The quirks of baseball might suggest that Boston will of course score in double digits every night at the Trop, but I'm not stupid enough to put any money on that.

Nathan Eovaldi / J.A. Happ

Betts, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, LF
Pearce, 1B
Moreland, DH
Pedroia, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF

At early batting practice today: Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Christian Vazquez, and Sandy Leon.

Chris Sale is nothing if not honest:

I just flat-out stink right now. ... This is flat-out embarrassing for my family, for my team, for our fans. This is about as bad as it gets.

Manager Alex Cora will not be surprised if Sale is "right where we need him to be" in his next outing. "He's very close to the 'real Chris Sale'."

Sale: "Fuckin' hope so."

The Red Sox have allowed 6.3 runs per game. Only the Mets (6.5) are worse. (The Rays are tops with only 2.5 RA.)

While a handful of hitters are doing well - J.D. Martinez (.338/.408/.544), Xander Bogaerts (.300/.394/.500), and Mitch Moreland (.900 OPS with 10 of his 13 hits for extra bases) - most are not: Mookie Betts (.212 average, .394 SLG), Jackie Bradley (.160/.204/.200), Rafael Devers (.295 SLG), Christian Vazquez (.195 average, 233 OBP), and Eduardo Nunez (.171/.190/.195). Nunez's OPS+ may be a laughable 5, but it's better than Steve Pearce (-22) or Dustin Pedroia (-20).

Four of the five regular starters have ERAs over 7.95. Rick Porcello is averaging 9.5 BB/9 - though he has pitched only 11.1 innings in three starts. The pitching staff is 15th (last) in the AL in runs allowed and ERA, 14th in home runs allowed, 13th in hits allowed, and 10th in walks issued.

Did anyone have Marcus Walden leading the staff in wins after 18 games?