A three-run homer in the first inning from Rafael Devers proved to be all the Red Sox needed Sunday to secure a sweep of the Yankees -- but just good for measure, the Sox kept adding on and demolished New York 9-2.
Kike Hernandez (two RBI) and Christian Vazquez (two RBI) also homered for the Sox, who improved to 6-0 against the Yanks this season.
Eduardo Rodriguez gave the Sox six strong innings, touched only by a two-run homer by Aaron Judge.
WHO: Red Sox (46-31) vs. New York Yankees (40-36)
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHEN: 1:10 p.m.
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 2-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 5-0
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
YANKEES
LeMahieu 2B
Judge CF
Voit 1B
Stanton DH
Urshela 3B
Torres SS
Andujar LF
Frazier RF
Higashioka C
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo LF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Renfroe RF
Vazquez C
Gonzalez 2B
Santana 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B8: First homer by Vazquez since May 19, and only his second since the first first week of the season.
B7: A bloop double by Bogaerts and a bloop single from Devers (four RBI today) give the Sox a run back.
T7: More control issues for Darwinzon Hernandez, who is averaging almost a walk per inning. Hard to be a fully trusted reliever in high leverage spots with that kind of walk rate,. Garrett Whitlock on.
T6: Over everything shot by Aaron Judge for a two-run homer -- perhaps the first really hard-hit ball off Rodriguez this afternoon.
B3: Sac fly to RF by Christian Vazquez helps the Red Sox add on. Strangely, no action in the visitor's bullpen as Cole is being lit up.
B3: J.D. Martinez gets a hold of a curveball and sends it into the CF bleachers and the Sox lead is up to 5-0.
T3: Terrific backhand stop by Marwin Gonzalez behind the second base bag. Gloved a big hop, got to his feet quickly and fired a strike to nab Luke Voit at first
B1: What a shot -- Rafael Devers unloads on a 100mph heater and hits it 113.7 mph and 451 feet, almost halfway up the bleachers in RF with two on and the Sox already up 4-0.
B1: Well, that didn't take long. Kike Hernandez launches a rising line drive into the first row of the Monster Seats on a 96-mph heater from Gerritt Cole. hat's Hernandez's seventh homer of the year and second leadoff homer. For what it's worth, they came off Cole and Lucas Giuolito.
WHAT'S UP:
The Red Sox are 4-4 in their last 8 games, after going 10-4 in their previous 14....The Sox are a season-high-tying 15 games above .500 for the fourth....The Red Sox are closing out the season’s first half by playing 19 games in 20 days...Simply, the Red Sox have begun 52 days with at least a share of first place in the AL East and 29 days in second place...They have not faced a deficit of larger than three games or held a lead of larger than 3.5 games....The Sox are 8-13 (.381) vs. AL West teams and 38-18 (.679) against all others...They are 6-1-2 in their last nine series against AL East clubs....The Red Sox have won their last six games against the Yankees (5-0 this season)...In 2020, the Sox were a combined 4-16 against the Yankees and Rays; this season, they are 9-2 against those teams. The Sox are 23-17 (.575) vs. teams that entered today with a .500 record or better, the fourth-best record in MLB....Red Sox pitchers have allowed two ER in their last 27.2 IP...In their 11 games since surrendering 18 runs to Toronto on June 13, the Sox have posted a 3.32 ERA ......The Sox lead the AL with 1.00 HR/9.0 IP. Sox starters have thrown 5.0+ innings 59 times, tied for 3rd-most in the majors...The Sox are 38-21 (.644) when their starter lasts 5.0+ innings (8-10 in other games)....: The Red Sox are 22-17 at home, including 22-14 (.611) since getting swept by Baltimore to begin the season...Their .564 winning percentage at home ranks second in the AL East. The Sox are an MLB-best 24-14 (.632) on the road...Red Sox relievers rank fourth in the AL and eighth in the majors in ERA (3.63)...They have an MLB-high six pitchers with 20 or more relief appearances and a sub-3.25 ERA. Among AL closers, Matt Barnes ranks first in strikeout percentage (45.0 percent) and FanGraphs’ WAR (1.5)...He also ranks second in WHIP (0.88) and tied for second in saves (16)....Adam Ottavino has stranded 19 of his 20 inherited runners this season (95%), including all three with the bases loaded in the 8th inning Saturday night...He has a 1.50 ERA in his last 19 outings (18.0 IP, 3 ER). Garrett Whitlock has made 10 scoreless appearances of two or more innings, most in the majors...Each of those 10 appearances have come in relief...No other pitcher has more than seven scoreless relief appearances of two or more innings......Hunter Renfroe leads MLB with 11 outfield assists...19 teams have fewer than 11 OF assists...Renfroe has six assists in June (3 in his last 5 games). Since the start of 2019, Renfroe leads the majors with 25 OF assists, five more than any other player. The Red Sox lead MLB with 23 outfield assists, after leading the majors in the category in 2020 (18)...No other AL team has more than 14 OF assists this season....Josh Taylor has made 22 consecutive scoreless appearances (17.1 IP), tied with the Cubs’ Dan Winkler for MLB’s longest streak of 2021... Xander Bogaerts has reached base in 21 consecutive games (.424 OBP), tied for MLB’s longest active streak...J.D. Martinez has a 15-game on-base streak.....EDuardo Rodriguez allowed three earned over 6.0 IP on Tuesday at TB ....That was his longest start since 5/12 vs. OAK...He's 0-4 with a 7.94 ERA in his last 8 starts after going 5-0 with a 3.82 ERA in his first six...He has not received the win in his last 8 starts, the third-longest winless streak of his career
NOTES:
* Danny Santana has been slumping for more than a month, but is in the lineup Sunday because of his past success vs. Gerrit Cole, against whom he is 8-for-12 with a homer and two doubles.
* Alex Cora on Eduardo Rodriguez: "We feel his stuff is where it should be. Now, it's about making adjustments, making pitches and going deep into games.''
* Chris Sale emerged from his live batting practice on Saturday well. "Really good,'' reported Cora. "He feels great. The next step is on Wednesday, another live BP, basically two innings. Now, we just have to stay patient and not get too excited. But the fact that he's progressing this way, you start thinking ahead about when he's going to contribute and when he's going to be part of what we're trying to accomplish. Obviously, teams are going to make moves and try to improve in the upcoming weeks. But one thing's for sure -- no one can trade for Chris Sale, right? We can add Chris Sale to our equation and we're very excited about that.''