All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 4-2 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ insight and analysis.
HEADLINES
Pivetta pays for two mistakes
On a day when the Red Sox bullpen was a bit short, Nick Pivetta gave the Red Sox 5.2 innings and allowed just four hits. Problem was, two of the four hits were home runs and both came with men on base. He allowed a two-run blast to right to Anthony Rizzo in the fourth inning and then another to Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth. Those four runs held up for the Yankees. "If we can take one pitch away, it was probably that slide-step slider,'' said Alex Cora. "It just backed up and stayed in the zone too long and Stanton got to it. But besides that, he gave us 5.2 of solid baseball. Four runs against that team, that's a good start.'' Pivetta's velocity dipped in the middle of the game, but Cora said he didn't second-guess himself by staying with him. "He was built up to go 90 (pitches) and six innings,'' said Cora. "That's what we did in spring training.''
Sox offense dries up after strong start
For the second straight day, the Red Sox took an early multi-run lead. And for the second straight day, it wasn't enough. The Sox raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second when Alex Verdugo cranked a two-run shot to right. But the Sox didn't score again after that and, in fact, managed just two more hits over the final seven innings. Once New York starter Luis Severino was out of the game, the Sox couldn't collect a single hit off the Yankee bullpen. Over the final three frames, the only baserunners for the Sox were the result of a walk (to Verdugo in the eighth) and an error (by Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the ninth). For the game, the Red Sox were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position; for the two games to date, 2 for 22, while stranding eight baserunners. Even in the early going, when the Red Sox were making some hard contact, they squandered some scoring chances. Trevor Story was stranded at third base in the second, and a one-out double by Rafael Devers was wasted in the third.
Improved defense on display
If there's one positive through the first two games, it's the play of the Red Sox defense. Alex Verdugo made another diving catch in left field to take a hit away in the seventh. Devers made a terrific stab of a screaming grounder from Stanton -- measured at 114 mph -- for the final out in the fourth. And in the play of the game, center fielder Kike Hernandez timed his leap perfectly against the wall in the fourth to rob Aaron Judge of extra bases. The Sox also got an outfield assist from Jackie Bradley Jr. in the second. Bradley's throw to second was actually quite off target, but he did a good job of playing the carom on a ball hit by Joey Gallo, and even with the errant throw, got the ball back into the infield quickly and had Gallo out by 10 feet.
TURNING POINT
The inability to take advantage in the early innings proved costly. Leading 2-0, the Sox had Devers at second after a one-out double, but both Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez fanned to leave yet another runner in scoring position. In the first four innings alone, the Red Sox stranded runners at either second or third three times.
TWO UP
Alex Verdugo: Through two games, Verdugo has four hits and three sliding plays in the outfield. He loves playing in New York and is energized by the inevitable razzing and trash talking he hears from the stands. As he approached second base on his two-run homer in the second, he pointed to the fans in left field who had been riding him.
Phillips Valdez: Valdez had the unenviable job of facing Donaldson, Judge and Rizzo in the bottom of the eighth and he made quick work of the imposing trip, getting Donaldson to swing through a changeup before retiring the next two hitters on routine groundouts.
TWO DOWN
Christian Vazquez: It was an unproductive afternoon at the plate for the catcher, who took a called third strike with runners on the corners and two out in the fourth, and was hitless in three other plate appearances.
Xander Bogaerts: After a productive Opening Day with the bat, Bogaerts fanned three times Saturday.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I think we put up good at-bats. But early in the game, we had chances. We just didn't get the hit with men in scoring position. But as far as the approach and everything, I think we were good. We extended at-bats; we just didn't get too many hits.'' - Alex Cora
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Giancarlo Stanton has homered in each of his last six games against the Red Sox and in seven of the last eight games.
* Through two games, the Red Sox are 2-for-22 with RISP.
* The Red Sox have scored just one earned run off the New York bullpen in 12 innings in the two games to date.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Yankees conclude their series at 7:05 p.m. Sunday with RHP Tanner Houck facing LHP Jordan Montgomery on ESPN.