Things unfolded for the Red Sox in the fifth inning against the Yankees on Tuesday afternoon.
Boston dropped Game 1 of its doubleheader to New York 5-3 at Yankee Stadium after an ugly fifth allowed the Yankees to take the lead once and for all.
Tanner Houck got through four innings but does tend to struggle the third time through the lineup. Plus, in a seven-inning game manager Alex Cora believed going to Garrett Whitlock was the best choice for the fifth.
However, Whitlock only got one out before walking the next two batters he saw, forcing Cora to bring in Josh Taylor. Things didn't go any better for Taylor, who walked Joey Gallo and ended up surrendering two runs to give the Yankees the win.
After the game, Cora was asked about the fifth and his mindset during it.
"That was a tough fifth inning. Tanner gave us four," Cora said over Zoom. "Where we bullpen wise, matchup wise, we felt like Whit could get through the fifth, and JT in the sixth against some of those lefties. We ended up walking (Brett) Gardner and (Aaron) Judge, and we felt JT was a good matchup against Gallo and (Luke) Voit, actually. So we went to him. We walked Gallo then the bloop single. At the end of the day that's what they do. They control the strike zone, they don't chase too many pitches, and the walks today put us in a bad spot."
These games really are must-win for Boston, especially with New York hot on its heels just one game back of second place in the American League East.
The good news? The Red Sox can split the doubleheader with Game 2 on Tuesday night and regain the two-game edge.
