Red Sox Wrap: Gio Urshela’s Grand Slam Sinks Boston In 5-2 Loss To Yankees

One swing made a pretty big difference in the Boston Red Sox’s loss Saturday night.

Gio Urshela’s second-inning grand slam proved to be the game-winning hit, as the New York Yankees handed the Sox their second straight loss, a 5-2 defeat at Yankee Stadium.

Making his first start with the Red Sox, Zack Godley surrendered the big fly to Urshela, in addition to a solo homer to Aaron Judge in the first inning. The offense was equally culpable for the loss, struggling to get much going at the dish and finishing with a mere five hits.

The Red Sox fall to 3-6 with the loss, while the Yankees climb to 6-1 with the win.

Here’s how it went down:

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GAME IN A WORD
Underwhelming.

Except for the bullpen, nothing really was good for the Red Sox on Saturday.

ON THE BUMP
— Godley came back to earth in his second outing with the Red Sox. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings on six hits with two walks and a strikeout.

The 30-year-old recorded an out on the first batter he faced, and after that things unravelled, beginning with a 455-foot Judge solo shot to left field.

Then in the second, Godley loaded the bases with three singles to begin the inning, and proceeded to give up a 416-foot grand slam to Urshela, which put the Yankees ahead 5-0.

Godley got through the rest of the second and the third without issue, then was pulled in the fourth inning after getting an out and walking two.

— Chris Mazza took over with runners on first and second with one out, and after punching out D.J. LeMahieu, he walked Aaron Judge to load the bases, but danced out of the jam by getting Gleyber Torres to fly out.

That was just the start of Mazza’s night though, and he fared well in his Red Sox debut. He ultimately allowed no runs on one hit with a pair of walks and three strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.

— Ryan Brasier handled the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a pair.

— Josh Osich got the eighth, allowing a single in a scoreless frame, striking out one.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— In an early 5-0 hole, the Red Sox scored their only runs in the top of the third.

Andrew Benintendi worked a one-out walk, then moved to second on a Kevin Pillar single. With two outs, Xander Bogaerts ripped a shot to the wall in right that plated Benintendi and Pillar, with the latter scoring thanks to some baserunning that was equal parts aggressive and alert.

— The Red Sox put runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth on a Jackie Bradley Jr. walk and Tzu-Wei Lin single, but Benintendi struck out to end the game.

— Pillar led the Red Sox with a pair of hits.

— Rafael Devers, Christian Vazquez, Tzu-Wei Lin and Bogaerts each had one hit.

— Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, Alex Verdugo and Bradley Jr. all went hitless.

TWEET OF THE DAY
At least it was a nice night in The Bronx.

UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Yankees will finish up their three-game set Sunday evening. Boston’s starter is to be determined, but the Yankees are expected to send out James Paxton. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is set for 7:08 p.m. ET.

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