The Boston Red Sox have been a resilient ball club all season, and that trend continued Friday night against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Trailing the Yankees by three in the bottom half of the seventh, the Red Sox rallied for four runs in the inning and tacked on two more in the eighth en route to a 9-6 victory in Game 1 of the weekend series.
It was a brief outing for Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz. The left-hander tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings before being pulled from the game with back spasms. Boston’s bullpen wasn’t spectacular in relief of Pomeranz, but timely hitting bailed out the lackluster pitching.
With the win, the Red Sox improve to 70-51, while the Yankees fall to 65-56.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Rally.
The Red Sox held a 3-2 lead entering the seventh inning, but a four-run frame gave the Yankees a late lead against their division foe. Boston would follow suit with a four-run outburst in the bottom half of the frame, though, and rode the momentum to a series-opening victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Craig Kimbrel notched his 29th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
ON THE BUMP
— Pomeranz was solid in his first three innings of work, scattering four hits while striking out four over that span. But as he warmed up for the fourth inning, the left-hander noticeably was favoring his back. Pomeranz recorded one out in the fourth before being removed from the game with back spasms.
— Brandon Workman allowed a walk and single upon relieving Pomeranz, but the right-hander notched the final two outs of the inning to get the Red Sox out of harm’s way. Workman stayed on for the fifth and tossed a scoreless inning.
— Matt Barnes entered in the sixth and logged one out before Chase Headley lined a single to right field, followed by a two-run home run off the bat of Todd Frazier to trim Boston’s lead to one. Barnes struck out Ronald Torreyes, but back-to-back singles from Austin Romine and Brett Gardner forced Barnes out of the game.
— Joe Kelly followed Barnes and plunked Aaron Hicks to load the bases, but the right-hander responded by getting Aaron Judge to ground out and end the inning. The seventh inning wouldn’t be as kind to Kelly, though, as Gary Sanchez led off the frame with a solo blast to even the score 3-3. It would only get uglier for Kelly, as Sanchez’s shot was followed by a walk and a single, which prompted Red Sox manager John Farrell to yank the right-hander from the contest.
— Heath Hembree followed Kelly and walked Frazier on his first batter faced to load the bases. Torreyes would then make Hembree pay, smashing a two-run double off the Monster to give New York a 5-3 edge. The right-hander punched out Romine for the first out of the inning before being removed for the game.
— Robby Scott came on after Hembree and promptly walked Gardner to load the bases. The left-hander then hit Hicks in the foot to push across the Yankees’ sixth run, which forced Farrell to tap into his bullpen for the third time in the frame.
— Addison Reed struck out Judge and got Sanchez to line out to end the messy seventh inning. Reed stayed on for the eighth and pitched a scoreless frame.
— Kimbrel sat the Yankees down in order in the ninth to lock down the win.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Rafael Devers got Boston on the board with a two-run home run in the second inning, his seventh long ball of the season.
— Christian Vazquez, who went 3-for-3 on the night, knocked in Boston’s third run with a mammoth solo shot in the fifth inning.
— The Red Sox’s offense had been relatively quiet to start the night, but the bats finally came alive in the seventh. Vazquez kicked things off with a one-out single, followed by a Jackie Bradley Jr. walk. Eduardo Nunez then dribbled one down the third-base line to load the bases.
Mookie Betts plated Boston’s fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly, followed by an Andrew Benintendi RBI single to bring the Red Sox within one. After Hanley Ramirez walked to reload the bases, Mitch Moreland gave Boston the lead with a two-RBI single up the middle.
— The Red Sox’s offense picked up right where they left off in the eighth. Devers led off the inning with a single, followed by a Vazquez walk. After a double steal, Bradley brought both runners home with a two-RBI single.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Safe to say this Yankees fan was not thrilled at how things panned out.
Fenway vibes. pic.twitter.com/TKoC6xIDc8
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 19, 2017
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Yankees will play Game 2 of their three-game series Saturday night. Chris Sale is scheduled to get the ball for Boston and will be opposed by New York’s CC Sabathia. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
