All you need to know, in quickie form. about the Red Sox' 8-0 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sale better, but not good enough: Chris Sale had, by far, his best fastball velocity of the season, hitting 94 mph with his first pitch, sitting often at 95-96 mph and at times hit as high as 98 mph on the gun. That's encouraging given Sale had previously not shown anywhere that much zip on his four-seamer. Sale and pitching coach Dana LeVangie made some tweaks to his mechanics and that was evident, as he had a quicker tempo overall, which might also be credited to the return of catcher Sandy Leon. His slider, too, was better. But Sale still missed location on a number of big pitches and that hurt him. In particular, he was at the top of the zone with his changeup on a pitch to Clint Frazier, resulting in a home run. Sale also was not very efficient, needing 71 pitches over his final three innings of work, which in turn limited him to just a five-inning stint. The improved velocity was further proof that it's not a physical issue with Sale, which is comforting for Red Sox fans. But again, this is about results and Sale's still not getting them four starts into the season.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1118300074830893057
Lineup punchless again: On Monday at home against the Orioles, the Red Sox managed just one run and four hits off an Orioles staff that wasn't good. Facing James Paxton and the Yankees, the Sox proceeded to do what seemed impossible -- they got worse with their offense. The Sox were blanked for the third time this season and had just three hits: a double by Xander Bogaerts, a double by Jackie Bradley Jr. and an infield single by J.D. Martinez. They had one great scoring chance in the fourth when Mookie Betts drew a leadoff walk and went to third on Bogaerts' double. But poor situational hitting followed -- two straight flyballs to shallow right field, neither deep enough to plate a run, followed by a strikeout. The Sox, in fact, struck out a total of 12 times while working just one walk. In their last three games, the Sox have scored just five runs and five times in the first 18 games, they've scored one or no runs. Paxton didn't even throw a breaking ball until the sixth inning, shutting the Sox down with just a four-seamer and cutter for the first five frames.
Taxed bullpen costing Sox roster composition: Because the Sox starters have, in general, given them so few innings, the Sox have been into the bullpen early and often. With Andrew Benintendi (foot) unavailable and Dustin Pedroia getting a day after starting three games in a row, the Sox had one available player on the bench -- catcher Christian Vazquez. That gave Alex Cora little maneuverability when it came to making out the lineup. Had he had another position player to consider, he could have sat Mitch Moreland, who was a bad matchup with the lefthanded Paxton on the mound. Instead, Moreland was at first and fanned all three times against Paxton. And it's not as if the new arm provided much help -- Erasmo Ramirez gave up a three-run homer to the fourth batter he faced.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1118309975607128065
SECOND GUESS
It hasn't been a great start to the season for Mookie Betts, for the second time this season, he failed to run hard out of the batter's box on a ball he thought was going foul. It happened in the sixth inning, and Betts was out by a step at first because of the lack of hustle initially.
TWO UP
Does not apply.
TWO DOWN
Erasmo Ramirez: Called up earlier in the day and making his Red Sox debut, he was shelled for four runs in three innings, victimized by a three-run homer from the No. 9 hitter in the New York lineup, Mike Tauchman.
Steve Pearce: Pearce is supposed to crush lefties, but he was completely overmatched against Paxton, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against him.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Stuff-wise, that was his best one. ... He's getting closer to the guy we know he can be.'' Alex Cora on Chris Sale.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- J.D. Martinez, who had an infield single in the ninth inning, has reached base safely in all 18 games.
- Paxton became the first Yankee pitcher since Tommy John in 1979 to throw eight scoreless innings while making his first start against the Sox for the Yankees.
- Ramirez became the 14th pitcher to pitch for the Sox this season.
- Jackie Bradley's eighth-inning double snapped an 0-for-13 skid at the plate.