All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-4 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Price flops again: When David Price beat the Yankees the last time the Sox were last in New York for Sunday Night Baseball, it looked to be one more milestone win for him. Just as last October helped Price erase his poor postseason history, the win in early June seemed to signal an end to his struggles in the Bronx as a member of the Red Sox. Think again. Price gave up a solo homer in the first, then had the Yankees bat around on him in the third and couldn't get out of the inning, charged with seven runs in just 2.2 innings. His changeup and cutter both consistently ran over the middle of the plate in the third, inviting hearty swings from the Yankees, who belted the ball all over the ballpark, with four extra-base hits in the span of five batters. The lousy outing continued a poor run for Price, who has allowed 24 runs in his last 22 innings and is winless in his last five starts.
First three in lineup contained for series: Last weekend, when the Sox scored 44 runs in four games against the Yankees at Fenway, they got a ton of production from Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts. Betts had a three-homer game, Devers continued his huge run production and Bogaerts was his steady, reliable self. Not this weekend, however. Betts was a combined 2-for-15 at the plate over the four games - both hits were singles -- and failed to score a single run over the four games. Devers was only marginally better, going 2-for-16 with a solo homer. And Bogaerts had the worst time of them all, going 0-for-15 with a walk and a run scored. Is it any wonder the Sox weren't much of a threat when the first three hitters in their lineup combine to go 4-for-46?
Weber more than does his job: What does it say about the Red Sox weekend in New York that Ryan Weber was easily -- easily! -- their most effective pitcher. Starter after starter failed them, and the bullpen coughed up the nightcap Saturday, but Weber was very good. Taking over after Price was knocked out in the third and Darwinzon Hernandez gave them four outs, Weber pitched the final four innings and retired 12 of the 13 Yankee hitters he faced. The only hit off him those four frames was a one-out double to right by Cameron Maybin in the seventh. Weber doesn't throw hard, of course, but as he did against Toronto back in May in a spot start, he used his mix of sinker and slider to keep the Yankees off balance, disrupting their timing and getting a lot of weak swings.
TURNING POINT: Trailing the Yankees 7-0 after three innings, the Red Sox had their work cut out for them. Consecutive solo homers by Christian Vazquez and Michael Chavis in the fourth got them on the board and in the fifth, a two-run single by Andrew Benintendi got them to within three and chased starter J.A. Happ. When Vazquez worked a walk off reliever Luis Cessa, that brought the potential tying run to the plate in the person of Chavis. But Chavis swung at a breaking pitch in the dirt for strike three and the Sox had only one baserunner over the final three innings.
ONE UP:
Outfield defense: In the big scheme of things, it didn't impact the outcome, but the Sox got two terrific plays from their Gold Glove outfielders, as Jackie Bradley Jr. took extra bases away in running down a ball in the gap in the fourth and Betts robbed D.J. LeMahieu of a double in the ninth with an astounding leaping catch in the eighth.
ONE DOWN:
Darwinzon Hernandez: No one questions the quality of Hernandez's stuff, but control continues to be an issue. In an inning and a third in relief, he walked two and has now allowed three weeks in his last 1.2 innings.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Just couldn't make a pitch to get that out of that inning.'' David Price on the third.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- Despite losing their last eight games, the Red Sox have homered in each of them, giving them the second-longest losing streak with homers in the last 100 years.
- The Yankees scored six runs in the third, marking the fifth time this season that they've scored six or more runs in an inning against the Sox.
- In addition to the eight-game overall losing streak, the Sox have also lost their five in a row on the road.
- This trip marked their first losing road trip since April.