Final: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 - Price, offense fizzle as New York evens series

Yeah, sure, David Price struggled again in the postseason — three runs allowed, two home runs in the shortest postseason start of his career (1.2 innings pitched) — but it was the Red Sox’ offense that struggled mightily as the Yankees evened the AL Division Series 1-1 with a 6-2 win over the Red Sox on Saturday night.

The series shifts to Yankee Stadium on Monday and Tuesday. The Red Sox have to win a game there to being a deciding fifth game back to Fenway.

Boston managed just five hits and seven base runners against four Yankees pitchers, including starter Masahiro Tanaka (1-0), who threw five innings of three-hit ball.

Since taking a 5-0 lead in the third inning of Game 1, the Red Sox have been outscored 10-2 by the Yankees and are batting just .167 as a team (8 for 48).

Price (0-1) allowed home runs to Aaron Judge (first inning) and Gary Sanchez (second) and three runs before being lifted to a cascade of boos.

Sanchez later hit a 479-foot three-run homer off of Eduardo Rodriguez (also 1.2 innings pitched).

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Bottom of the ninth

• Pearce walks as the Fenway Faithful have started serenading Chapman.


• Nunez struck out.


• Kinsler grounds into double play.

• Judge walks.


• Voit walks.


• Stanton grounds into a 5-3 double play.


• Ground out ends the inning.


• Chapman coming in.

• Betts grounds out. He's 0 for 4.


• Benintendi walks. If the Sox are going to make a comeback, it has to come now.


• Martinez grounds into fielder's choice.


• Bogaerts does the same. Whimper. Betts, Benintendi and Martinez a combined 1 for 11.

• Torres strikes out against Hembree. Pearce at first base for Moreland.


• Britton warming for the Yankees.


• Gardner walks.


• Routine double play to end the inning that turns into a circus with another poor throw from a Red Sox infielder (Kinsler) but Pearce bails him out.


• Britton will enter for the Yankees.

• Moreland singles.


• No pinch-hitter for Nunez and he flies out.


• Kinsler doubles off the wall, scoring Moreland, who was clutching his hamstring near the plate. RUN: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2.


• Kinsler steals third but Devers, pinch-hitting for Leon, strikes out.


• Bradley grounds out.

• Judge reached on an infield single. Rodriguez showed questionable hustle getting over to cover. Not sure if he's hurt or what.


• Voit walks to give Yankees two on and nobody out.


• A second throwing error gives the Yankees the bases loaded. Red Sox are challenging but he looked safe.


• Wow ... he's ruled out. Didn't think there was enough to overturn, but it's first and third and one out.


• Well, the umpires prevented a grand slam, because Sanchez just hammered his second home run of the game, a three-run shot deep to left center. RUNS: Yankees 6, Red Sox 1.

• Two ground outs end the inning.

• Dellin Betances enters the game for Tanaka (5 IP, 3 hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks, 1 ER).


• Benintendi grounds out to first. Lineup needs to get going.


• Martinez grounds out to second.


• Bogaerts grounds out to third.

• Brandon Workman enters.


• Gregorius strikes out looking and didn't like it.


• Single to right by Andujar.


• Single up the middle by Torres. Two on, one out and Rodriguez will enter.


• Gardner pops out to short.


• E-Rod fans McCutchen.

• Leon grounds out.


• Bradley strikes out.


• Betts stings one to center, but Gardner was playing deep.

• Ryan Brasier is in the game for Kelly, who was terrific in his 2.1 innings.


• McCutchen strikes out.


• Nunez, who has been saved a few times by Moreland, finally throws one away and Judge is on second after the throw goes into the camera well. E5.


• Voit walk brings a mound visit.


• With E-Rod warming, Brasier bounces back to strike out the side. Before his final pitch to Sanchez and several delays by the catcher, Brasier motioned and told Sanchez to "get in the (bleeping) box."

• Martinez lines out to right.


• Bogaerts dong to straightaway center on the first pitch. Thing just sounded pure. Missile. RUN: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1.

• Moreland whiffs.


• Nunez walks on four pitches.


• Kinsler strikes out for the second time in the game to end an inning. He's now 1 for 6 in the series with five strikeouts. Might be Brock Holt time.

• Andujar grounds out.


• Torres pops out to right.


• Gardner eventually grounds out.

• Leon grounds out.


• Bradley lines a single sharply to left.


• Betts pops out to short. He's 1 for 5 to open the series.


• Benintendi grounds out to second. Sox have just the two singles in the first three innings.

• Voit flies out to right.


• Stanton singles hard to left center.


• Sanchez whiffs


• Gregorius flies out.

• Moreland grounds out to second.


• Nunez lines out sharply to center.


• Kinsler strikes out.

• Sanchez hammers a 1-0 pitch into the first row of the Monster seats. RUN: Yankees 2, Red Sox 0.

• Gregorius grounds out weakly to second.


• Great plays by both Nunez (down the line) and Moreland (across the line for the pick) retire Andujar.


• Torres walks on five pitches.


• Gardner walks after a couple of very close pitches. Fans didn't like a few of the calls.


• Joe Kelly is warming up (ducks).


• McCutchen hammers one high off the Wall for an RBI single. And, amazingly, that will do it for Price, who is booed lustily off the mound. RUN: Yankees 3, Red Sox 0.

• Kelly is in.


• Judge flies out to right to end it.


• Shortest postseason start of Price's career: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BBs, 0 Ks, 2 HRS — 42 pitches, 24 strikes. Three swings and misses.

• Betts is jammed and flies out left.


• Benintendi makes good contact but flies out to left center.


• Martinez slams a 1-2 count down the left-field line but it bounces off the short wall and Gregorius tracks it down to keep it a single.


• Brett Gardner being Brett Gardner tracks down Bogaerts screaming line drive in the left-center gap for the final out.

• McCutchen grounds out to third.


• On a 1-2 count, Aaron Judge absolutely tattoos one into the left-center field seats for a home run. RUN: Yankees 1, Red Sox 0.

• Voit grounds out to third with a low throw from Nunez and pick by Moreland.


• Stanton flies out very loudly to deep center. Not a great start from Price.

____________________

• The Red Sox elected to go with Heath Hembree to replace Steven Wright on the roster. "Although he struggled with his slider (in the last month), we feel his fastball can make a difference,'' said Alex Cora. "We'll see how we use him. Throughout the season, he was coming in with runners on. I don't know where we're going to go. But we still feel that 97 mph with life, up in the zone, is OK with this team.''


• Cora dismissed any need for another lefty (Drew Pomeranz, Bobby Poyner) just for the sake of having another lefty and saw no need for someone to provide length (spot starters Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez). "We feel OK,'' said Cora. "There are certain guys that we didn't ask to go multiple innings during the season,'' Cora said, "but we do feel they can do it. We still have Eddie (Rodriguez), but we have to be careful not to use him too early so that we're covered (if a game gets into extra innings). But we feel we're covered.''


• Wright was working out Friday afternoon, utilizing the medicine ball and felt his knee act up. "He felt it and went to the training room,'' said Cora. "He had the MRI (which discovered loose bodies in the knee). It sucks, because (Friday) was the perfect game for him to come in (when starter Chris Sale was lifted). It is what it is. But it sucks because he was throwing the ball well.'' By rule, Wright is ineligible for the ALCS -- players removed from the roster must sit out the next round -- but could potentially return if the Red Sox advance to the World Series. "I haven't gotten to that point,'' said Cora. "I don't want to say I don't care, but we have to plan for now. I talked to him (Friday); he was very down, obviously. But we'll see.'' Wright will see the surgeon who performed his procedure on Monday.


• Cora had said he would "probably'' go with Rafael Devers in Game 2, but Eduardo Nunez was again the choice at third base. "We've got our numbers and offensively he's been swinging the bat well,'' Cora offered, "but it's not like there's a big difference between the way Noonie has been swinging the bat. He's been putting up good at-bats.'' Cora noted that righties actually hit the righthanded Masahiro Tanaka slightly better than lefties. But the big difference is Nunez's reliability at third, especially since David Price is likely to generate a lot of grounders to the left side of the infield.


• Rick Porcello, who gave the Red Sox two-thirds of an inning of relief in the eighth in Game 1, is still tentatively set to start Game 3 Monday. "Let's see how he the game goes tonight,'' said Cora. "We'll try to win tonight, and if we have to use him, we'll use him. And if he pitches tonight, Nate (Eovaldi) will pitch Game 3.''