With just four outs left to get, the Red Sox squandered a three-run lead -- the first time they'd done so all year -- and saw what seemed like a certain victory over the Yankees turn into a crushing loss, 4-3.
The Yankees produced four straight hits -- the final three off reliever Adam Ottavino -- and rallied for all four of their runs in the eighth inning, snapping the Red Sox' four-game winning streak.
The Sox had the potential tying run on third and winning run at second in the bottom of the ninth, but Aroldis Chapman got Kike Hernandez to swing at a 100 mph fastball for strike three.
Nathan Eovaldi had shut the Yanks out for seven innings before allowing a leadoff double and a two-out single. Ottavino, who had allowed just one inherited runner to score all season, allowed his second, then yielded another double and single as the Yanks took their first lead.
The Sox had nicked Jameson Taillon for single runs in each of the first three innings, with two of them unearned due to errors by Rougned Odor.
WHO: Red Sox (60-38) vs. New York Yankees (50-46)
WHEN: 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES: BOS 2-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 9-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-5, 3.57) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (5-4, 4.60)
TV/RADIO: NESN; FX1; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
YANKEES
LeMahieu 3B
Gardner LF
Stanton DH
Odor 2B
Torres SS
Allen RF
Gittens 1B
Florial CF
Brantley C
RED SOX
Hernandez 2B|
Duran CF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Verdugo LF
Plawecki C
Cordero RF
Chavis 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B8: Yankee outfielders Greg Allen and Estevan Florial collide as shadows hit right field, but Allen holds onto a hard-hit liner from J.D. Martinez for the final out, stranding runners at the corners.
T8: Second poor outing in a row for Adam Ottavino, who gives up three straight hits....and the lead. Two-run double to Odor ties it and a single by Gleyber Torres -- a blooper into no-man's land in RF -- gives the Yankees their first lead of the day.
T8: Big ovation for Eovaldi, who turns in one of his best outings of the year -- 7.2 innings, one run allowed.
T5: Eovaldi is in full cruise control mode, pitching to one batter over the minimum through his first five innings of work, and doing so with remarkable efficiency. He's at just 53 pitches.
B3: Rafael Devers makes it a nice round 80 for his RBI total for the season -- and six in the last two games alone -- with a long sacrifice fly to center, scoring Duran with ease.
B3: Good hustle by Jarren Duran. Rougned Odor can't come up with his smash, and Duran, running hard out of the box, slides safely into second on a ball that never traveled beyond very shallow center field.
B2: Kevin Plawecki, who had two hits in his last start, continues to swing a hot bat with a double high off The Wall, scoring who himself had doubled.
B1: Kike Hernandez kicks starts things again, with a triple high off the wall, and a throwing error by Rougned Odor skips past third, enabling Hernandez to score. Quick lead for the Sox.
T1: Strong first inning for Nathan Eovaldi, who works around an infield single into the shift and fans two.
WHAT'S UP: At 60-38 (.612), the Red Sox own sole possession of the AL’s best record...They are 22 games above .500, matching their season high (also 54-32). The Sox have won their last four games and are 28-15 (.651) in their last 43...This is the 12th time the Red Sox have reached 60 wins in 98 games or fewer, having most recently done so in 2018, 2011, 2006, and 1979....Last night marked the first time in 50 years the Red Sox defeated the Yankees despite Boston’s starting pitcher recording three outs or fewer...It last happened on July 5, 1971, when Bobby Bolin (5.2 IP) and Ken Tatum (3.0 IP) recorded the final 26 outs. Sox relievers rank third in the AL in ERA (3.57)...Their eight active relievers have a combined 2.88 ERA for Boston this season...Rafael Devers hit his 99th and 100th career HR last night...He is the 33rd player to hit 100 HR with the Red Sox, but only the third to do so before turning 25 years old (Ted Williams-127, Tony Conigliaro-124). In the Statcast era (2015-present), Devers has hit more homers pitches 99.0+ miles per hour than any other player (4). Last night marked the Red Sox’ MLB-leading 31st come-from-behind win (TB ranks 2nd with 30)...In 10 of those wins, the Sox trailed after five innings.....: The Red Sox regained sole possession of first place in the AL East on June 27, and have held it ever since. The Sox are 26-12 (.684) vs. AL East teams...That is the best record for any MLB team within its own division. Twenty-nine of the Sox’ first 32 games out of the All-Star break are vs. the AL East (NYY-10, TOR-10, TB-6, BAL-3, DET-3)....The Red Sox are 10-2 in their last 12 games against the Yankees (9-2 in 2021)...Sox pitchers have a 2.60 ERA against the Yankees this season, allowing three ER or fewer in nine of 11 meetings. The Red Sox have won their last six home games against the Yankees (5-0 in 2021)...Prior to this season, they last won six or more consecutive home games vs. NYY in 2008-09 (7) and 1990 (7)....Red Sox are 30-19 (.612) at home, the fourth-best record in the AL (10th-best in MLB)...They are 15-6 (.714) at home since Fenway opened to full capacity on May 29, including 11-2 in their last 13 games. The Red Sox have the AL’s best road record (30-19, .612), second-best in MLB...They have a 3.83 ERA on the road (8th in MLB) and a 4.30 ERA at home (22nd)....Since divisional play began in 1969, Nathan Eovaldi is the only Red Sox pitcher to throw five or more innings and allow one or no ER in seven straight starts vs. AL East teams (source: Elias)...The previous Sox record (six) had been held by Pedro Martinez. Only two other pitchers have thrown fiver or more innings and allowed one or no ER in seven straight starts vs. AL East teams: Frank Tanana (seven in 1977) and Félix Hernández (seven in 2010)....In their last 24 games, Red Sox starters own a 3.65 ERA ...Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 74 times, tied for fourth-most in MLB; the Sox are 49-25 (.662) in those games....Xander Bogaerts has played in 994 games at shortstop, all with the Red Sox...According to Elias, he would become the 70th player to appear in 1,000+ games at SS for a single franchise, the third to do so with the Sox (Everett Scott-1,093, Rick Burleson-1,004).....The Red Sox rank in the top five in the majors in runs scored (third, 501), AVG (fifth, .258), SLG (second, .444), OPS (third, .765), doubles (first, 209), and XBH (first, 349). The Sox have hit four or more HR in a game an MLB-best 10 times, including in five of their last 21 games...In that 21-game span, they lead the AL with 38 HR. The Sox own MLB’s best records when scoring four or more runs (53-7, .883) and five or more runs (46-4, .920)...They have scored 10+ runs in a game an AL-best 13 times...The Red Sox are 18-10 (.643) in one-run games, tied for LB’s second-best record...They own the AL’s second-best record in extra-inning games (6-3, .667). The Sox are 31-20 (.608) vs. teams that entered today with a winning record, MLB’s second-best mark...They are 11-16 vs. AL West teams and 49-22 (.690) vs. all others....Nathan Eovaldi has issued one or no 0 BB in each of his last six starts (36 SO, 4 BB). Is 5-3 with a 2.78 ERA in his last 10 starts....Eovaldi is 12-5 with a 3.13 ERA over his last 23 starts dating back to Aug. 20, 2020...His 3.5 WAR ranks 2nd among AL pitcher....Leads qualified AL pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (0.42) and ranks third in BB/9.0 IP (1.75).....Leads Sox starters in wins (nine), ERA (3.57), innings (108.1), and WHIP (1.20)...Eovaldi is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts this season vs. NYY.
NOTES:
* The Red Sox told Eduardo Rodriguez to report late to the ballpark today after he was removed from Friday's start due to migraine symptoms. Alex Cora expects Rodriguez to take his next scheduled turn at this point and doesn't believe an IL stint will be necessary.
* The Sox have changed up their plans somewhat with Tanner Houck. Originally, Houck was to alternate between the rotation in one turn and the bullpen in the next, but he's now slotted to start Wednesday against Toronto, which has a predominantly righthanded lineup. "The doubleheader (Aug. 7) in Toronto plays into the equation,'' said Cora. "We'll keep him in the rotation and give the (other) guys an extra day. There's a chance that Martin (Perez) might pitch (Sunday), then start Game 1 in Tampa (Friday) on regular rest. The other guys want the extra day. We're getting into the part (of the schedule) where there's a lot of conversations with medical staff and mapping out the rest of the month. At one point, they're going to pitch with an extra day's rest for a long period of time and it's going to be beneficial for us in September and hopefully October.''
* Chris Sale will pitch either four or five innings Sunday in Portland in his third rehab start, but this won't be his last one according to Cora. "He's on a mission,'' said Sale. "He wants to be part of this.''