Red Sox Notes: Boston’s Shorthanded Bullpen Takes One On Chin
Alex Cora's options were limited
The Yankees weren’t quite as dominant as the final score of their blowout victory over the Red Sox on Saturday would indicate.
Boston fought hard, but ran out of gas.
It would have honestly been surprising if Alex Cora’s club didn’t eventually lose control of the game. The Red Sox entered the matinee matchup with five pitchers available: Josh Winckowski, Brennan Bernardino, Greg Weissert, Chase Anderson and Zack Kelly.
Does that group really inspire confidence?
“We were walking a tightrope today pitching wise,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The thought process was kind of like, ‘Let’s keep the game in check.’ We had Zack (Kelly) for two (innings) late in the game, but it was going to be Chase in the middle of the game. It just didn’t happen.”
Winckowski labored in the NYC smog, making it just 3 2/3 innings before eventually being lifted. Brennan Bernardino was asked to steal an inning after bailing Winckowski out of a jam, but just kickstarted a disastrous fifth inning in which he, Weissert and Anderson all got torched. The Yankees put seven runs on the board, putting things out of reach after it initially looked like Yankee Stadium would be home to another late-innings nail biter.
It decidedly wasn’t, as is usually the case without more than half your bullpen.
Red Sox-Yankees
Here are more notes from Saturday’s matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees:
— Alex Verdugo helped get the ball rolling for New York, belting a two-run shot to tie the game and taking a painstaking 32 seconds to round the bases. It was the slowest trot seen by Boston all season.
The Red Sox didn’t necessarily take offense, but Winckowski made sure to note how rough of a season it has been for Verdugo.
— Ben Rice became the first rookie in Yankees history to hit three home runs in a game, collecting seven RBIs in the process.
— Rafael Devers is a .341 lifetime hitter off Gerrit Cole following Saturday, belting eight home runs off the right-hander in his career — including this mammoth blast Saturday.
Devers, who also recorded his 1,000th hit earlier in the ballgame, didn’t mince words on his feelings to a potential reaction after his home run celebration, dragging Verdugo into the (potential) fire with him.
“It was a big hit for us,” the 27-year-old said. “… They did it to us before, so nobody can get mad for those reactions. It’s just baseball.”
— The Red Sox and Yankees will conclude their trio at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. It’ll be an ESPN exclusive starting at 7:10 p.m. ET, with Boston returning to NESN on Tuesday for the opening game of their series with the Oakland Athletics.
