All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 19-3 win over the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
First inning sets the tone: After waiting almost four months into the season for the Yankees to visit Fenway Park, the Red Sox weren't very welcoming hosts. In the first inning, they scored seven runs and immediately set the tone for the night, which would see them set a franchise record for most runs scored in a game against the Yankees. The Sox sent 11 men to the plate as they batted around, with a three-run homer from Xander Bogaerts giving them a 3-0 lead after the first three hitters. The eruption happened so quickly that Bogaerts' mother, visiting from Aruba, wasn't even in her seat when her son struck the first blow. Roughly coinciding with the switch back to Mookie Betts to the top spot in the order, the Red Sox have become a force in the first inning again. In their first 80 games, they managed just 33 first-inning runs; in the last 25, they've scored 39. The Sox didn't make their second out of the first inning until the eighth batter, Christian Vazquez, popped to short -- and the rout was on. "That carried us through the entire game,'' said starter Rick Porcello.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1154539243919818752
Porcello survives rocky second: After being gifted seven runs n the first inning, starter Rick Porcello seemed intent on giving the lead back in the second. Porcello threw a staggering 47 pitches in the second as the Yankees sent eight men to the plate. At one point, the Yankees strung together four straight hits and appeared to be a big swing away from wiping out the huge head start they had given the Sox an inning earlier. "I fell into a pattern,'' said Porcello, ''with a couple of guys, a couple too many fastballs with certain hitters. Usually you're faced with one or two innings where your back's against the wall and you've got to make pitches and I haven't been making pitches in those situations. I've been continually missing over the middle of the plate and that's what's been beating me.'' Porcello limited the damage to just two runs, and over the next four frames, allowed just one more run to score.
Bogaerts continues to streak: For much of the year, Xander Bogaerts has been the heart of the Red Sox offense, often hitting third and anchoring the lineup. That was the case again Thursday with a three-run homer in the first, two singles in the middle of the game, and finally, another homer in the eighth. He's made a habit of punishing the Yankees this season. In eight games against them, he's batting .438 with five homers and eight RBI and an OPS of 1.471. While it certainly helps to have Betts and Rafael Devers hitting in front of him and J.D. Martinez behind him, Bogaerts is the hitter around which the offense operates. He puts the ball in play, seems to hit it hard nearly every at-bat and has largely avoided any lengthy slumps this season. And having already matched his career-high in homers with 23 and more than two full months left to play, there's no telling what he's capable of.
TURNING POINT
After laboring through a 47-pitch inning in the second, Porcello seemed on the ropes, But he came out in the third mixing his pitches far better, changed up sequences and retired the Yankees in order on just nine pitches, bringing some order to the game for the Sox and allowing them to keep adding on.
TWO UP
Mookie Betts: Betts has two hits by the time the first inning was over and later added a walk. He also extended his on-base streak to 22 games, the longest active streak in the league while adding to his league-leading runs total.
Rafael Devers: July isn't over and already Devers has matched his season-high in homers (21). This month alone, he has nine homers and 31 RBI and an OPS of 1.122.
ONE DOWN
J.D. Martinez: Martinez didn't go hitless -- he managed a double into the left-field corner in the fifth inning and another double off catcher Austin Romine in the eighth -- but he was the only member of the Red Sox starting lineup without an RBI.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"Our offense has been absolutely unbelievable, especially when I've been pitching.'' β Porcello.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- The 19 runs represented the most Red Sox runs ever scored in a single game against the Yankees.
- The seven runs in the first inning were the most for the Red Sox vs. the Yankees in the first since they scored eight on Sept. 26, 1989.
- Eight different Red Sox players had two or more RBI, tying an A.L. record.
- Michael Chavis leads all A.L. rookies with 54 RBI.