All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-5 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Two streaks continue: Here we are, 52 games into the 2020 schedule and the Red Sox still haven't done two things: beat the Yankees, or won a game in extra innings. They spent most of the night giving every indication that they were going to finally beat New York after seven straight losses in head-to-head meetings, grabbing a 4-0 lead after five innings. The Yanks began chipping away in the late innings off the Boston bullpen, scoring twice in the seventh and another in the eighth. In the ninth, Matt Barnes got two quick outs, but Gary Sanchez belted a curveball into the Monster Seats to tie it. It was the fourth blown save of the season for Barnes. Then, in extra innings, the Sox had all sorts of chances over three innings. After the Yankees when ahead in the 11th, the Sox tied it on a single from Christian Arroyo, then loaded the bases with one out. But they failed to push the winning run across, part of a frustrating night that saw them strand a staggering 15 baserunners and go 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position. The Sox are 0-3 in extra innings this season.
Martinez bottoms out: In a season that's been one long disappointment, Friday may have represented a low point for J.D. Martinez. He was 0-for-6 with four strikeouts, dropping him to .199 for the season. He also managed to strand nine baserunners over the course of the game. The last two plate appearances were particularly brutal. With the potential tying run in scoring position and two out, Martinez took a called third strike to send the game into extra innings. Then, two innings later, it got worse. With first base open, the Yanks elected to intentionally walk Xander Bogaerts to load the bases to get to Martinez with one out. That strategy would have been absolutely unthinkable over the last four or five seasons. After getting ahead 2-and-0, Martinez then went down swinging for the fourth time. "With a guy that's been as consistent as he has over the year,'' said Ron Roenicke, "to go through this stretch, I'm sure it's pretty rough for him. You keep thinking he's going to come out of it. He has some good games and then he doesn't (come out if it). Tough night. One of the best hitters in the game and he's going through this.''
Perez turns in best start: Martin Perez has been the Red Sox' best and most reliable starter -- an honor that, admittedly, may not sound like much this season. But Perez has almost always given his team a chance to win games and he did more than that Friday with six brilliant innings in which he held the high-scoring Yankees (19 homers in previous three games) to just three hits and no runs. Particularly effective for Perez was his two-seamer, which he used to record seven strikeouts -- every one of them called and the vast majority on the inner half. "I felt great tonight,'' said Perez. "Everything was right there. Velocity was up and I was able to compete in all the innings I pitched.'' Perez became the first Red Sox starter to toss at least six shutout innings since Rick Porcello did so Sept. 20, 2019 against Tampa Bay.
TURNING POINT
In the bottom of the 10th inning, after keeping the Yanks scoreless in the top of the inning, the Red Sox had baserunners at second and third with one out against flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. All they needed was a flyball to the outfield, but instead, Chapman reached back and got Jackie Bradley Jr. looking before overmatching Michael Chavis for the third out.
ONE UP
Christian Arroyo: Arroyo hit a three-run homer in the fourth to produce the first lead of the night for the Sox and later added a game-tying single in the bottom of the 11th after the Yankees had taken the lead in the top of the inning. He's hitting .303 with three homers since joining the Sox.
TWO DOWN
Darwinzon Hernandez: Chalk it up to rust perhaps, but Hernandez's first outing in three weeks wasn't sharp, as he walked two, allowed a hit and was charged with two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Michael Chavis: Chavis had a long night at the plate, going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It was definitely one of them.'' Ron Roenicke, asked if this loss was the most frustrating of the season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Xander Bogaerts swiped two bases and is now 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts this season.
- Alex Verdugo extended his hitting streak to eight games before leaving the game in the fourth inning with a tight left hamstring.
- Christian Vazquez became the first Red Sox catcher since Jason Varitek to steal multiple bases in a game.