Final: Yankees 5 Red Sox 1

Two critical defensive lapses in the outfield on consecutive plays contributed in a big way to a 5-0 to the Yankees for the Red Sox.

J.D. Martinez failed to catch a line drive hit directly at him, then couldn't track down a ball in shallow right which resulted in a two-run ground rule double. Both misplays helped set up the Yankees' big inning, capped by a two-run homer from Edwin Encarnacion.

The Sox failed to get a runner into scoring position until the eighth inning and had just five hits for the game.

Martinez snapped the Yankees' shutout bid with a solo homer with two outs in the ninth, his seventh homer against the New York this season.

WHO: Red Sox (76-65) vs. New York Yankees (92-50)
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHEN: 4:05 p.m.
SERIES TO DATE: Boston 1-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: New York 11--5
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Travis Lakins (0-1, 4.70) vs. LHP J.A. Happ (11-8, 5.34)
TV/RADIO: NESN, FS1; WEEI 93.7 FM

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

7:03   For the first time all afternoon, the Sox threaten offensively, doubling their hit total within the inning from two to four. But Zack Britton gets Brock Holt looking at a called third strike and Betts lines out hard to right, stranding two.

6:37   Improbably, another bullpen game has worked pretty well for the Sox. Of the eight pitchers they've used this afternoon, six have held the Yankees scoreless. And the four runs allowed by Ryan Weber and Colten Brewer can be at least partly attributable to poor defense.

5:42  Through five innings, the Sox have been able to very little against J.A. Happ - a leadoff single from Mookie Betts in the first inning and a one-out single in the fourth from Bogaerts. He hasn't walked a batter and has fanned six.

5:23   Career hit No. 1,000 for Xander Bogarts, becoming the third Red Sox player to reach that milestone before the age of 27. Tris Speaker and Bobby Doerr are the two others, making for pretty good company.

5:07   The inning goes from bad to worse. First, neither Martinez nor backpedaling infielder Brock Holt can catch a ball on the warning track, which bounced in fair territory then hops into the seat for a ground rule double, scoring two. Then, Edwin Encarnacion follows with a two-run homer. From bad to worse in a hurry.

5:02   J.D Martinez loses a line drive -- hit directly at him -- in the sun, providing a gift double to Didi Gregorius. I've asked before, I'll ask again: why is Martinez playing in the outfield? While that sun is tough, the Sox should have made allowances for that and not asked Martinez to play in right on a day game.

4:48  Through 12 innings  in this series, Red Sox pitching has allowed just three hits to the Yankees.

4:38 Travis Lakins, like Jhoulys Chacin Friday night, gives the Sox two perfect innings as the opening pitcher. He faced six hitters and alternated between overpowering hitters (three strikeouts, all swinging) and recording hard-hit balls to the outfield.

 

LINEUPS



RED SOX

Betts CF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez RF
Benintendi LF
Vazquez C
Moreland 1B
Travis DH
Holt 2B

YANKEES

LeMahieu 2B
Judge RF
Gregorius SS
Sanchez C
Encarnacion DH
Torres 2B
Gardner CF
Voit 1B
Tauchman LF

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have allowed a total of five runs in their last 27 innings and have held those opponents to a .149 batting average...During their current 13-6 stretch, the Red Sox own the AL's lowest ERA (3.38)...The Sox have committed just 10 errors in their last 33 games, tied with the Yankees for the fewest made in that stretch....Starting July 24, the Boston bullpen's ERA of 3.29 is the lowest in the majors, while managing to hold hitters to a .201 batting average...In Darwinzon Hernandez's last eight games, he's allowed zero runs, while fanning 16 hitters in 8.1 innings....J.D. Martinez has six homers against the Yankees this season. The only Red Sox players to hit more in a season are Jimmie Foxx (eight in 1936), Jackie Jensen (seven in 1955), Mike Napoli (seven in 2013) and Manny Ramirez (seven in 2004)….Xander Bogaerts is one hit shy of 1,000 for his career...Bogaerts needs one more double to become just the second shortstop in baseball history to have 50 doubles and 30 or more homers in a season. Alex Rodriguez did it in 1996...David Ortiz is the only Red  Sox player to do it, with 35 homers and 52 doubles in 2007...The Sox are fifth in homers with 222. They also hit 222 in 2004. The franchise record is 238 in 2003. The Sox are on pace for 255...In their last 38 games, the Sox have 70 homers....The club also leads the majors in doubles with 315....