All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-1 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Defensive lapses croak Sox: Four of the five runs scored by the Yankees came in the fourth, and all four came as a direct result of some poor defensive play by J.D. Martinez in right field. First, with a runner on first and one out, Martinez failed to catch a liner right at him, struggling with the tough sun field. Then, Martinez went chasing after a ball near the right-field line, only to pull up when he saw second baseman Brock Holt going after the ball. It dropped in for a ground-rule double, scoring two. "As an outfielder, you've got take charge on that one,'' said Alex Cora. And the next batter, Edwin Encarnacion, hit a two-run homer, ending a highly costly sequence. Cora said he had Martinez in the outfield -- and Jackie Bradley Jr. on the bench -- because "we need to score runs; we've been struggling against lefties.'' In the end, however, the choice of Martinez in right proved costly.
Sox continue to struggle against lefties: New York starter J.A. Happ turned in 6.1 innings of shutout ball against the Sox, who dropped to 20-26 in games started by lefthanders this season. Cora had five righties and four lefties in the order, opting to go with lefthanded hitters like Holt and Mitch Moreland because both had been putting up quality at-bats of late. It doesn't help that the manager doesn't have much to choose from on his bench. The only other righthanded options available to him were infielder Chris Owings (hitless in his last 10 at-bats) and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez (also 0-for-10 in his last 10 at-bats). This is where the Sox miss both Steve Pearce and Michael Chavis.
Bogaerts reaches milestone: Xander Bogaerts picked a good time to collect his 1,00th career hit. Back in his native Aruba, his mother was celebrating her birthday and Bogaerts had family members text him before the game that today would be a good day to reach the round number. Sure enough, with one out in the fourth, Bogaerts drilled a single to right field to satisfy his family, provide his mother with a nice gift and realize a nice achievement for himself. "I was hoping that it wouldn't come on a game where we lost,'' said Bogaerts. "But from a personal standpoint, it was definitely a special day for me. A thousand hits against the Yankees and on my mom's birthday is pretty neat.''
SECOND GUESS
Perhaps this is easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but the idea of playing Martinez in right field during a day game is surely risky. Start with the amount of ground there is to cover -- Fenway has one of the game's most spacious right fields -- and add in the sun factor, which is considerable in the late afternoon, and it would have been far more sensible to keep Mookie Betts in right, move Andrew Benintendi to center and have either Martinez or Sam Travis handle left.
ONE UP
Travis Lakins: Lakins got his first major league "start'' -- even if it was for just two innings -- as he mowed down the Yankees six straight while recording three strikeouts and showing the best velocity he flashed this season.
ONE DOWN
Rafael Devers: Devers has been streaky of late and Saturday represented a down day, as he went 0-for-4 with a double play and two strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"Got to give credit to (J.A.) Happ. He dominated us today and for some reason, we couldn't stop chasing those high fastballs.'' Xander Bogaerts.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- Marco Hernandez delivered a pinch-hit single in the eighth and is now 6-for-13 a pinch-hitter this season.
- Bogaerts became just the Red Sox player in history to reach 1,000 hits before turning 27.
- J.D. Martinez became the third player to hit 35 or more homers in each of the last three seasons.
- The Sox used eight pitchers, tying a franchise record for a nine-inning game.