All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-1 win over the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Chacin makes his mark: Jhoulys Chacin was out of work, having been released by the Milwaukee Brewers. He then threw a bullpen in front of Dave Dombrowski and Alex Cora at Angel Stadium and got himself signed to a minor league deal. From there, he was added to the major league roster, and Friday night, he found himself starting for the Red Sox in the first game of a four-game series against the Yankees. Since he hadn't pitched in the big leagues since late July, Chacin wasn't sufficiently built up enough to go very deep. But he did provide two perfect innings with four strikeouts to send the Sox in the right direction. "I was more worried about throwing strikes,'' he said, "so I tried to take my time, see the glove and hit the glove. I knew it was going to be short, but I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.''
Moreland beats the shift: Few players have been as affected by shifting than Mitch Moreland, who tends to pull the ball a lot on the ground and lose a lot of potential hits in the process. But Friday night, Moreland drove one pitch through the shift on the ground, another over it on a line drive to right and a third to where no one could get it -- into the right-field box seats for a three-run homer. "It's tough when they usually get caught,'' said Moreland. "The ones in the four-hole (on the right side of the infield) aren't as tough as the ones up the middle. But it's part of the game now -- as soon as you hit them, you kind of know most of the time. You've just got to continue to go up there and try to have good at-bats and get a good pitch That's kind of the way I approach it.''
Devers and Bogaerts continue doubles race: Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts came into Friday tied for the major league in doubles with 48 each. Devers then surged ahead when he hit his 49th to lead off the fourth, but his lead didn't last long. The next inning, Bogaerts answered with a double of his own, tying him with Devers again. The two are now a double away from becoming the first American League teammates in 23 years to have 50 or more doubles in a season, and the first two Red Sox teammates to ever do so. Asked if he and Devers had made a friendly side bet on who gets there first or who finishes with the most doubles, Bogaerts responded: "No but it seems weird that every time he hits one, I hit one right after -- or the other way around,'' he said chuckling. "We don't have any side bets, but maybe we should make one.''
TURNING POINT
The double by Bogarts in the fifth inning did more than tie them on the doubles leaderboard. It also scored two baserunners -- Mookie Betts and Devers -- and took what had been a 4-1 Red Sox lead and stretch it to 6-1.
ONE UP
Ryan Weber: Other than "starter'' Chacin, Weber was the only other Red Sox pitcher to provide multiple innings. He pitched the sixth and seventh and allowed just one hit and one walk.
ONE DOWN:
Christian Vazquez: The Red Sox catcher may be tiring from the workload, as he went 0-for-4 and has seen his batting average drop from .302 as the second half began to his current .271.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"I think it was huge. He came out and really set the tone for us, putting up a couple of zeros.'' Mitch Moreland on starter Jhoulys Chacin.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Sox now have a franchise-record eight players with 15 or more homers.
- Jackie Bradley Jr. posted his 10th outfield assist of the season when he threw out Gary Sanchez at the plate in the seventh.
- Brock Holt is batting .322 with runners in scoring position.
- Xander Bogaerts established a career-high with 105 RBI.