The nominal second half of the season began with two bad losses to the Red Sox. A sweep would have not only been a crushing blow from a simple wins and losses standpoint, but from a morale one as well. With the team teetering on the precipice of the abyss, a third consecutive loss would have been a devastating blow with the excellent Orioles and league-leading Giants entering town.
Instead, the Yankees staved off oblivion for at least another day with a 3-1 win over Boston. Masahiro Tanaka lead the way with six brilliant innings in which he struck out seven and allowed just three hits, one of which was a screaming home run down the left field line by Dustin Pedroia in the first inning. Once that was out of the way, the Boston hitters looked woefully off-balance for the rest of the night. The Dellin Betances – Andrew Miller – Aroldis Chapman triumvirate did their thing, and that was the ballgame.
The New York runs all came in the bottom of the fourth. A little rally that started with a Didi Gregorius (who else?) hit resulted in RBI’s from Starlin Castro, Austin Romine and Jacoby Ellsbury. David Price, who seemed to have recently found his groove for the Red Sox, struck out just one batter over a shaky outing in which he could not escape the sixth inning. The lefty ace struck out just one batter.
It was not a dominating win for the Yankees by any stretch of the imagination, but one that they were due for. It’s a win that staves off what is likely the inevitable, a win that serves as the calm before the storm of Oriole dingers and Madison Bumgarner strikeouts. An end will come for the Yankees. They’re too far gone now, and their schedule is rife with impending doom. For once they’re through with Baltimore and San Francisco, they will fly to meet the surging Astros.
For now, it was a feel-good win to take one’s mind off the fate of all fools and middling .500 teams in the harsh AL East. It was a vintage Tanaka performance, and a dominating showing by a well-rested bullpen.
It was a win. It’s just too bad that the Yankees have lost more than they’ve won.
The Play: Starlin Doubles in Didi (+.156 WPA)
The double that brought home the Yankees’ first run. Two more would score in the inning. Runs! Runs are good!
Top Performers
Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (6 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 1 HR)
Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia (1-4, HR, K)
The Highlight: Tanaka bends space-time to strike out Bradley
Seriously, look at the movement on that pitch. What the hell, man. I’m scared.
Up Next
The Orioles roll into town for four games. Kevin Gausman will face Ivan Nova, who will do his best to not allow three home runs to Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo.
Photo: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports; Videos: MLBAM