All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Dalbec provides the difference
First baseman Bobby Dalbec was off to a slow start at the plate. Through his first nine at-bats of the season, he had just one hit -- and even that was soft bloop single to left. But leading off the sixth inning against rookie righthander Clarke Schmidt, Dalbec went looking for a fastball and hit it out to right field and into the seats. It was a reminder of Dalbec's strength, his raw power and his ability to muscle the ball out of the ballpark while hitting it the other way. Dalbec's homer was, in fact, the only Red Sox hit over the final five innings, but it was enough to provide the winning margin and help the Red Sox avert a sweep to the Yankees and avoid beginning the season getting swept in the opening series for the second straight season.
Diekman fans the side in ninth
There weren't a lot of obvious choices for Alex Cora for a ninth-inning save situation. Matt Barnes was still dealing with a strained back and Garrett Whitlock is being preserved for multi-inning relief. The Sox had already run through five relievers before the ninth. Despite the fact that the Yankees had two powerful righty sluggers to start the inning, Cora went with lefty Jake Diekman and the veteran reliever made his manager look like a genius. First, he got Aaron Judge swinging to conclude an epic 11-pitch at-bat. Then, he struck out Giancarlo Stanton, who had hammered the Sox all series. Finally, in a more comfortable matchup, he struck out lefty Joey Gallo for the final out to nail down the save.
Offense tails off again
A familiar pattern re-emerged Sunday night. Just as happened in the first two games of the series, the Red Sox struck first and took an early lead. Then, however, the offense cooled quickly. The Sox scored just two more runs after a two-run first, with solo runs in the fourth and sixth. The first two games were similar. For the series, the Sox scored 11 runs, but only three came after the fourth inning. That's a tough way to win, since it puts even more pressure on a bullpen that is still trying to become settled.
TURNING POINT
In the fifth inning of a tie game, the Yankees got a leadoff single from Stanton and a one-out double from Gleyber Torres. But both baserunners remained stranded as the Yankees couldn't produce the big hit to take the lead, with Aaron Hicks fouling out to third and Isiah Kiner-Falefa striking out.
TWO UP
Kutter Crawford: The rookie gave the Sox two huge scoreless innings -- the fifth and sixth -- and that resulted in him picking up his first major league victory.
Christian Arroyo: Making his first career start in the outfield, Arroyo made all the necessary plays, scored a run and knocked in another with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.
TWO DOWN
Tanner Houck: Houck wasn't sharp in his first start of the season, issuing three walks in 3.1 innings and repeatedly getting into deep counts. He gave the Red Sox just 10 outs, and it took him 78 pitches to get those.
Kevin Plawecki: Getting his first start behind the plate, Plawecki struck out twice and went 0-for-4.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"He was tonight.'' Alex Cora, answering the question, "Is Jake Diekman your closer?''
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Alex Verdugo had at least one hit in all three games of the series and reached base seven times.
* Kike Hernandez was hitless in five plate appearances and is now 0-for-13 to start the season.
* Dalbec has 34 homers in his first 159 games. Only Tony Conigliaro (36) and Walt Dropo (35) hit more homers in their first 162 games with the Red Sox.
* The Boston bullpen allowed just one earned run over 14.2 innings in the first three games of the season.
* Giancarlo Stanton's streak of hitting homers against the Red Sox ended at six consecutive games.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox travel to Detroit to face the Tigers in a three-game set, with all three games starting in the afternoon. On Monday, it will be RHP Michael Wacha making his Red Sox debut, facing RHP Matt Manning at 5:10 at Comerica Park.