Red Sox
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Oftentimes at this point in the season, the Red Sox and Yankees find themselves battling for positioning in a steadily intensifying pennant race.
This year, they’re trying to ensure they don’t end up in the cellar of a loaded American League East.
Of course both teams still have playoff aspirations, but time is ticking – especially for the Yankees, who are under .500 this late in August for the first time since 1995.
Friday was a promising step for the Red Sox, as they bolted out to a commanding early lead and cemented an 8-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Brayan Bello allowed one earned run on six hits in six largely effective innings, striking out four and walking one.
The Red Sox (64-58) are now 6-1 against the Yankees (60-62) this season. With Toronto’s loss to Cincinnati, Boston is 2.5 games back of Seattle in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot.
The Red Sox pulverized the ball early.
The Red Sox started the game with four straight hits before recording an out.
Alex Verdugo doubled to right, Rafael Devers singled to left-center, Justin Turner plated Verdugo with a single up the middle, then Masataka Yoshida smashed a three-run homer to right to extend the margin to 4-0 through 1.
In the second, Pablo Reyes reached on an error, Verdugo singled, and Devers drove in Reyes to make it 5-0. Turner slapped a single up the middle to bring home Verdugo, then Yoshida plated Devers on a single to left.
Yankees starter Jhony Brito lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits as the Red Sox hit the ball hard and with conviction.
The Red Sox have scored seven or more runs in two straight games and five or more in four of their last five.
The top of the lineup was lethal. The rest, not so much.
Verdugo (3 for 5, three runs), Devers (3 for 4, two runs, two RBIs, one walk), Turner (3 for 5, one run, two RBIs), and Yoshida (2 for 4, one run, four RBIs) were a combined 11 for 18.
Turner has registered at least one hit in 28 of his last 32 games, Verdugo in 14 of his last 18, and Yoshida in 11 of his last 14. Devers has reached base safely in 16 of his last 17.
The rest of the lineup, meanwhile, finished a combined 1 for 20 with five strikeouts. Manager Alex Cora has mixed and matched and experimented with various lineups.
This one worked to an extent, but the Red Sox were relatively quiet after their dominant start.
They did add one run in the ninth, as Devers drove in Verdugo with a single to left that probably should have been called an error.
Brayan Bello took advantage of the cushion.
With the pressure off, and the game just about sealed barring a shocking twist, Bello found a rhythm Friday night.
He had struggled of late, allowing six runs against the Athletics, four against the Mariners, and four against the Tigers in three of his last five starts.
Bello wasn’t perfect in this one, either, but he did more than enough. He has a 1.45 ERA in five career starts against the Yankees.
Of course the flip side is that the Red Sox “wasted” Bello’s start when the game was essentially out of reach, but they’ll certainly take the wins however they can get them.
Aaron Judge homered off Garrett Whitlock in the eighth to make it 7-3. The Yankees threatened in the ninth but ran out of time, as Chris Murphy continued his torrid stretch.
He hasn’t allowed a run in his last nine relief appearances.
This one was particularly important considering what’s ahead.
Entering Friday, 13 of the 15 games between Boston and New York since Aug. 12, 2022, were decided by three runs or fewer. This one was not.
The Red Sox are now 17-14 against the AL East. Twenty-one of their remaining 40 games are against teams from their division.
Boston is 42-15 when scoring first, 57-18 when scoring four or more runs, 49-32 when hitting a homer, and 24-16 in series openers.
Game two of the series is Saturday at 1:05 p.m., and game three is Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Then it’s a brutal stretch against the Astros, Dodgers, and Astros again, followed by the Royals (not as tough), then the Rays and Orioles.
The Red Sox have the second-most-difficult remaining schedule in the majors.
This Red Sox-Yankees series may not carry quite as much weight as others between the clubs in recent years, but for a Red Sox team trying to stay afloat, every win counts.
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Originally posted 2023-08-19 02:15:20.