The Boston Red Sox had quite the start to the second half of the season.
The New York Yankees appeared on the verge of winning Game 1 of their four-game series at Fenway Park, but the Red Sox scored two runs off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4. Andrew Benintendi plated the winning run on a walk-off walk.
With the win, the Red Sox improve to 51-39, while the Yankees drop to 45-42.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Long.
Well, it is Red Sox-Yankees, after all.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Sox tagged Chapman for two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
ON THE BUMP
— Drew Pomeranz walked Brett Gardner to lead off the game, but he got the next three batters out to end the top of the first inning. He then had a 1-2-3 inning in the second.
However, the left-hander ran into some trouble in the third and fifth innings. He allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the third, and Gary Sanchez eventually knocked in Chase Headley to give New York a 1-0 advantage. Then, following a 1-2-3 fourth inning, the Yankees tagged Pomeranz for three more runs to take a 4-3 lead. Gardner had an RBI single, and he came around to score on Sanchez’s two-run blast to left field.
Pomeranz allowed four earned runs on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six innings.
— Matt Barnes came on in the seventh and pitched 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth frames.
— Robby Scott also had a quick 1-2-3 ninth inning.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Boston got on the board in the third inning thanks to Hanley Ramirez’s two-run home run over the Green Monster, making it 2-1 Red Sox at the time.
— The Sox then added to that lead in the fourth when Dustin Pedroia knocked in Sam Travis with a single.
— Mookie Betts led off the ninth with a single, and Pedroia followed with a single of his own. They then advanced to second and third on a double steal. Betts came around to score on a Ronald Torreyes fielding error on a sharply hit ground ball by Xander Bogaerts, which allowed Pedroia to advance to third base with no outs. The Yankees intentionally walked Ramirez to load the bases, and Benintendi won the game with a walk-off walk.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Handshake goals.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will return to Fenway Park on Saturday for Game 2 of their weekend series against the Yankees. Left-hander Chris Sale will take the mound for Boston, while New York will turn to right-hander Luis Severino. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
