Two batters into the game, the Yankees were losing 2-0. Luis Severino had walked Mookie Betts on four low and away pitches, and then Dustin Pedroia hit a ball into the right field porch. Severino proceeded to retire ten batters in a row. Seven of them were sat down by way of the strikeout.
Then, David Ortiz snuck a mortar launcher onto the field and attacked the “Bleacher Creatures” with a baseball. He would also hit a second home run. Xander Boegarts added a homer of his own in the top of the eighth off of Chasen Shreve.
Of course, that was three more runs than Steven Wright needed to win the game for the Red Sox. Aside from a garbage-time home run from Brett Gardner, the Yankees continued their habit of looking like little leaguers against knuckleballs. Wright went the distance and only allowed three hits, striking out seven and walking one. New York batters spent the entire night flailing at pitches like cartoon characters. Wright’s systematic dismantling of the batting order prevented the Yankees from completing a sweep of the Red Sox following Friday night’s controversial win and Saturday’s thrashing of David Price. Only two other Red Sox, Jon Lester and Pedro Martinez, have thrown complete game wins at Yankee Stadium since the turn of the century.
Despite his home run-sized hiccups, Severino’s outing was a positive one. He allowed just five hits (three of them left the yard), struck out nine and displayed much better command than he had shown off in his previous games this year. It was a step in the right direction, but Pedroia and Ortiz’s long balls were sizable warts.
What could have been a positive and constructive game because of Severino’s improvements was instead two and a half hours of staring at the clock and waiting for Wright to record his 27th out. Such is the way of the 2016 Yankees.
The Play: Pedroia goes oppo (.155 WPA)
Pedroia was the second batter of the game. With the Yankees’ recent struggles against knuckleballs, the game immediately felt out of reach.
Top Performers
Yankees: Brett Gardner (1-4, HR)
Red Sox: Steven Wright (9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)
Notes
– Aroldis Chapman returns tomorrow, so the shakiness of the middle relief corps should be mitigated somewhat. Until he gets flipped at the deadline, that is.
– Chase Headley still does not have an extra-base hit. Players that have an extra-base hit include Bartolo Colon.
– Ronald Torreyes pinch-hit for Starlin Casrto in the ninth inning following an awful blunder on the basepaths by Castro in the eighth inning. However, it wasn’t because of anger on Joe Girardi’s part. According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Castro felt something in his ribcage when he dived back to third base. He’s day-to-day.
The Highlight: A run!
Brett Gardner home runs are fun, because they’re almost always lasers. This one was rather meaningless other than the fact that it prevented Wright from throwing a shutout.
Up Next
The reigning World Champions roll into town on Monday. The Royals have been a little sluggish out of the gate, and are short one Mike Moustakas, but they’re still a fine team. Ivan Nova will fill in for the injured CC Sabathia, and he’ll be opposed by towering right-hander Chris Young. So, a real pitcher’s duel.
Lead photo: Andy Marlin / USA Today Sports
Video: MLB.com