New York Yankees 13 – Boston Red Sox 8
In a mid-day getaway day, the Yankees struck early against Boston.
Masahiro Tanaka took the mound after the Yankees had a scoreless first inning and the Red Sox struck first. Mookie Betts started the bottom of the first inning with a double to left, off the monster. Two outs later, David Ortiz hit a rocket to right field that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, giving the Red Sox the early 1-0 lead.
After the scoreless first inning against Henry Owens, the light clicked on and the bats heated up.
Carlos Beltran struck out to start the second inning but Chase Headley got on with a walk. Greg Bird followed with a home run, putting the Yankees ahead by one.
John Ryan Murphy went back-to-back with Bird when he put one over the monster for a solo home run. Didi Gregorius and Stephen Drew followed with a single and a double to put two in scoring position. Brett Gardner walked to load the bases and the Yankees plated another run on Chris Young‘s base hit.
On the base hit by Young that hit the monster, Stephen Drew at second, had a poor read of the play so he left second late but Brett Gardner at first, had an excellent read and was already at second base. Gardner ran with his head down, only to realize that Drew stopped at third, stranding the speedy outfielder between second and third for an out on the run-scoring single.
With two in scoring position, Alex Rodriguez kept the good times going with a two-run single to left field. The single by Rodriguez knocked Henry Owens out of the game in just the second inning. Reliever Ryan Cook came in to face Carlos Beltran and the Yankees right fielder gave him a Yankees-style welcome with a two-run home run to left field.
In the second inning, the Yankees batted around and plated eight runs.
In the third inning, Bird and Didi Gregorius walked around the first out of the inning but Stephen Drew dealt another big blow. Stephen Drew hit a three-run home run just over the short right field wall, extending the Yankees lead to 11-1.
Didi Gregorius added a run in the fifth inning with a solo home run. The Red Sox scored one in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly and another in the sixth inning when Xander Bogaerts went deep for a solo home run but it chipped into the 10-run lead, 11-3.
Tanaka exits the game after one out and a walk to start the seventh inning. In 6 1/3 innings, Masahiro Tanaka allowed four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out five.
Andrew Bailey returned to the majors for the first time since July 2013. Unfortunately, his return was short-lived as his control was erratic. After a pair of walks, Bailey surrendered a run on a sacrifice fly and another run on a single before Justin Wilson came in to finish off the inning. In 1/3 of an inning, Andrew Bailey allowed a run on a hit and two walks.
In the eighth inning, Bryan Mitcehll came in with the 12-5 lead. Of the first five batters Mitchell faced, four hit singles including two run-scoring singles from Blake Swihart and Jackie Bradley Jr. to bring the lead down to five. One more walk forced Mitchell’s exit in favor of Dellin Betances, who got the final two outs of the inning.
The Yankees added an eighth inning run on a pinch-hit single by Jose Pirela but the ninth inning did not go smoothly for the Yankees.
With Caleb Cotham in, Sandy Leon and Travis Shaw hit back-to-back doubles to plate a run, cue the entrance of closer Andrew Miller. The Yankees closer retired two, though one ball hit him in the back of the leg. He walked one and finished the game with a strikeout, ending a game that was drawn out just a little more than this Yankees fan liked.
In 2 2/3 innings, the Yankees needed six relievers, including Wilson, Betances and Miller.
Win – Masahiro Tanaka (11-6)
Loss – Henry Owens (2-2)
Notables
Yankees
*Stephen Drew – 3 for 4, 2 R, 2B, Three-run home run (17) in the 3rd, 3 RBI (44)
*Greg Bird – 2 for 4, 2 R, BB, Two-run home run (3) in the 2nd, 2 RBI (12)
*Didi Gregorius – 2 for 4, 3 R, BB, Solo home run (8) in the 5th, RBI (44)
Red Sox
*Xander Bogaerts – 3 for 5, R, Solo home run (5) in the 6th, 2 RBI (63)
*Blake Swihart – 2 for 3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2B, RBI (24)
Current Yankees Record: 74-58
