HEADLINES
The Red Sox bullpen shut down the Yankees lineup, the offense rallied back to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, giving Sox to a 6-2 win in Game 1 of the day/night doubleheader.
Nick Pivetta was nails for Alex Cora, tossing three scoreless innings. The Sox righty retired all nine batters he faced including stranding an inherited runner at second base in the second inning.
Chris Murphy was equally as good in his second appearance for the Sox. The southpaw came in following spot-starter Kaleb Ort and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Murphy allowed just one hit and he struck out three.
"Murph has been really good in that role since we started doing it in Triple-A. More efficient.. throwing a lot of strikes,” Cora said to reporters postgame.
Since being recalled from the WooSox, Murphy has not allowed an earned run in 5 2/3 innings. Overall since his move to the bullpen between Worcester and Boston, he has not allowed an earned run in four appearances (10 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 14 strikeouts).
TURNING POINT
The Sox rallied for three runs in the sixth inning which began with a Kike Hernández infield single with two outs. From there the offense clicked, Connor Wong smashed an RBI double to give the Sox a 3-2.
Alex Verdugo followed Wong with an RBI double of his own and Justin Turner delivered an RBI single to make it 5-2.
The Sox added another run in the seventh inning, Masataka Yoshida crushed a triple into the triangle in center field. He would score on a balk by Nick Ramirez making it 6-2.
UP
Verdugo extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one double which occurred in the Sox rally in the sixth inning.
Turner went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, the double coming in the sixth inning as well. He now has 18 RBI over his last 18 games and he has multiple hits in six of his last eight games dating back to June 9.
DOWN
Christian Arroyo was hitless in the win (0-for-4) and is three for his last 19 (.158) with a homer and two RBI.
Cora told reporters postgame that he will continue to run with the trio of Hernández, Arroyo and Pablo Reyes up the middle.
NOTABLE
Ort was good enough for the Sox in his spot-starter role on Sunday afternoon. He was tagged by Gleyber Torres for a two-run blast with one out. That was the only offense the Yanks would generate off the righty. He struck out four batters, which set a new career high. It was Ort’s first start since 2016 when he was a member of the independent Joliet Slammers.
UP NEXT
Sunday: RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 6.48 ERA) vs. LHP Brayan Bello (3-4, 3.78 ERA)