When Kiké Hernández stepped in during the eighth inning of Saturday night’s Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game, he was on an 0-for-27 streak.
Suffice to say he broke it in a big way.
The Sox utilityman ripped a double that plated Rafael Devers from first to put Boston up 4-3. That proved to be the pivotal hit, and one that would jumpstart the Red Sox offense in the penultimate frame, as they would score four more runs and win 7-3.
Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed three runs, which was enough to keep the Sox in it and allow the bullpen and offense to lock things down the rest of the way.
The Red Sox climbed to 35-23 with the win. The Yankees fell to 31-28 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Eighth.
It was the eighth inning that gave the Sox all the offense they needed to secure the win.
ON THE BUMP
— Overall, it was a solid night for Rodriguez, who has had a bumpy season but historically has fared well against the Yankees. The left-hander lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Rodriguez cruised through the first three innings, but got himself into trouble in the fourth. The southpaw allowed Gio Urshela to reach on a one-out single, then after getting Gleyber Torres into a 1-1 count, Rodriguez left a fastball right over the heart of the plate. Torres responded with a no-doubter into left field that put the hosts up 1-0.
After an uneventful fifth, Rodriguez danced with danger in the sixth with the Red Sox up 3-2.
He issued a one-out walk to Aaron Judge, who would move to third the next at-bat on an Urshela ground-rule double. At that point, Alex Cora had seen enough and took out the southpaw.
— Garrett Whitlock replaced Rodriguez, appearing for the first time against the organization he came up through the minors with.
He was unable to strand both runners, with Torres hitting a sac fly to deep right that plated Judge to tie the game at three. The run was charged to Rodriguez.
Whitlock kept Urshela at third though, striking out Chris Gittens to keep the game locked up heading into the seventh.
The 24-year-old returned for the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a single.
— Adam Ottavino got the eighth, and he pitched a 1-2-3 stanza.
— Brandon Workman got the first two outs of the ninth, but then walked two. That prompted Cora to put in Matt Barnes.
— Barnes entered and struck out Kyle Higashioka to end the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— It took the Red Sox offense a little bit of time to get going, but it heated up in a big way in the sixth inning.
Alex Verdugo got things going with a one-out single, moving to third the next at-bat on a Xander Bogaerts double. Devers then stepped in and roped a single that plated both runners, tying the game at two apiece.
The Devers RBI base knock got Yanks starter Jameson Taillon pulled, with Jonathan Loaisiga replacing him. Loaisiga was a bit of a puddle, beginning his outing by allowing Hunter Renfroe to single, which put runners on first and second. Marwin Gonzalez then hit his third double of the series, which drove in Devers to give the Sox a 3-2 advantage.
After a mound visit, Loaisiga mellowed out, getting the next two hitters out to strand runners at second and third.
— With the game locked up at three in the eighth inning, Devers began the frame with a single. The next two hitters were sat down though, then Hernández fell into a 2-2 count against Chad Green. But Hernández got a hold of one and ripped it down the left field line. Devers was on his horse and scored from first, putting Boston up 4-3.
The Sox weren’t done, either.
Christian Vázquez was next, and he responded with a two-bagger of his own, though his went down the right field line. That scored Hernández and put Boston up 5-3.
Then, Bobby Dalbec hit a moonshot to center that put the exclamation point on the inning.
— Verdugo, Devers, Renfroe and Vázquez each had two hits.
— Bogaerts, Gonzalez, Hernández, Dalbec and Danny Santana each had one hit.
TWEET OF THE GAME
You’ll never guess when this was tweeted.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Yankees will finish up their three-game set in the “Sunday Night Baseball” timeslot. Garrett Richards will be on the mound for the Red Sox opposite Domingo Germán. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is set for 7:08 p.m. ET on ESPN.
