All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-4 win over the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sale checks out: There was great uncertainty about what the Red Sox were going to get out of Chris Sale on Friday night. After all, his fastball averaged just 90 mph in his last regular-season tuneup and he had pitched a grand total of 17 innings over the final two months. But Sale calmed those fears right from his first few pitches, which registered 96 mph and 94 mph. "I'm pleased with what I saw,'' said Alex Cora. "Like I said before the game, it really didn't matter if it was 91 or 99 -- we knew he was going to compete. But that was good.''
Indeed, it was. Sale pitched into the sixth, and though he wasn't exactly the picture of efficiency -- thanks to an eight-pitch at-bat in the first with Giancarlo Stanton and an 11-pitch at-bat in the fourth against Aaron Hicks -- he showed periods of domination, with eight strikeouts and 10 swing-and-misses, allowing two runs on five hits. Sale said his outing "felt more like myself because I felt this was just a normal start. Not normal in terms of not being a postseason start, but just like there's no restrictions.'' If a Game 5 is necessary, Sale will be coming back on five days' rest. But he's not looking that far ahead. "If they ask me to throw tomorrow,'' said Sale, "I'll throw tomorrow.''
Bullpen pieces it together - barely: It took five relievers, some tense moments and 89 pitches, but somehow, someway, the much-maligned Red Sox bullpen escaped with a Game 1 win. It was far from pretty, with three walks and two wild pitches, but ultimately, the Sox preserved the margin of victory. That included two big outs from starter Rick Porcello, who was told before the game that he might be needed and was ready to go in the eighth when called upon. "It's about getting 27 outs, having the lead,'' said Cora. "And we did it.'' There were moments when it didn't seem likely. Brandon Workman struck out Gleyber Torres with a 3-and-2 curveball with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, which probably represented the biggest out of the game. When Aaron Judge powered a ball into the bullpen in the ninth, the Sox lead was cut to one. But Kimbrel came back to strike out Brett Gardner, Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit to close it out.
Martinez strikes fast in Sox playoff debut: In their last two trips to the postseason, the Red Sox were seemingly always playing from behind. Indeed, last year, in their four-game series with Houston, the Astros scored first in every game. But the Sox changed that pattern in a hurry in the first inning, and they have J.D. Martinez to thank. With Andrew Benintendi on second (single, stolen base) and Steve Pearce on first (walk), Martinez connected with a line shot off New York starter J.A. Happ into the Monster Seats, and four batters in, it was 3-0 Boston. "Obviously, it was important to get that lead right away,'' Martinez said. "And I think it kind of took a little pressure off everyone. Anytime you go into a playoff game, everyone's adrenaline is high and tensions are going. I think giving Chris that lead definitely just helped relax everybody.''
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1048363073193500673
TURNING POINT
It looked on the verge of going horribly wrong in the top of the sixth. The Yankees had scored twice and loaded the bases as Brandon Workman ran the count full to Gleyber Torres. The runners were in motion, which might have enabled all three runners to score on a single. But Workman dropped a hellacious curveball in the bottom of the zone for a called third strike, stranding three, and giving fans at Fenway a chance to breathe again.
TWO UP
Sandy Leon: He was 0-for-3 at the plate, but he masterfully blocked balls in the dirt all night and helped the bullpen navigate its way through 14 treacherous outs.
"I mean, we put him through the ringer tonight, top to bottom, from the start of the game to the very end," Sale said of his catcher. "So I think when you look back at this game and you go see look at how many balls we threw in the dirt to try to get swings and misses, and he was as solid as you can possibly be behind the plate. I think that helps tremendously."
Andrew Benintendi: He had two hits in his role as table-setter at the top of the Red Sox lineup and came around to score two runs.
TWO DOWN
Ryan Brasier: The reliever's playoff debut was far from smooth: he faced four hitters, allowed two singles, a walk and threw a wild pitch.
Brandon Workman: Though he recorded the big inning-ending strikeout, he too, struggled, with two hits and a walk.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"To get 27 outs at this stage right now is very difficult.''
— Cora, in what may qualify as the understatement of the year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox have won their last eight postseason games when they score five or more runs.
- The extended their postseason winning streak against the Yankees to five games.
- Sale had eight strikeouts; the last Red Sox starter to have more strikeouts in a postseason game was Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Rick Porcello's relief appearance was the eighth of his career in the postseason.
- Kimbrel recorded his first postseason save in five years.
- The three RBI for Martinez represented a career high.