BSJ Game Report: Yankees 3, Red Sox 2 - New York hangs on to take first of Tuesday's doubleheader

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Sox squander opportunity in Tuesday’s opener: The Red Sox had a golden opportunity to walk it off with the bases loaded, down 3-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning after three straight walks for Clay Holmes, but Alex Verdugo grounded into a game-ending double play in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader. Nick Pivetta struck out 10 over 5.1 innings of work before struggling in a three-run bottom of the sixth as New York took the lead. Rafael Devers opened the scoring with his 30th home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth.

TURNING POINT

Sixth inning: The Sox were only down to a last-ditch bottom of the ninth because of their struggles in the sixth inning between Pivetta and the bottom half of the inning at the plate. The right-hander began to run out of gas, hitting the proverbial wall as his pitch count crept up. After a HBP and a single, an RBI double for D.J. LeMahieu cut it to 2-1 for New York before Gleyber Torres hit a two-RBI single to right to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. After the inning turned over, Ceddanne Rafaela squandered the chance for two-out magic with runners on the corners and a chance to get Boston back on the board. 

FOUR UP

Nick Pivetta: Even with a tough top of the sixth, he still did enough for Boston to win. Finished his day with 5.2 innings of work, 10 strikeouts, one walk and three runs (earned) on just four hits. Was dialed through the first five innings, mixing his pitches well. Both his slider and sweeper generated four whiffs on seven swings each. 

Rafael Devers: I won’t anoint him ‘woken up,’ like I did last time he played the Yankees, but of course he got off the schneid against them. Hit a 109.7-mph moonshot for his 30th home run of the season and first bomb since Aug. 20 in New York to open the scoring in the bottom of the fourth.

Triston Casas: Solid day at the plate for Casas, going 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a double. Scored Boston’s second run, coming home from third on a wild pitch in the fourth. Nice job of going the other way for his double off the Monster.

Bullpen: Can’t ask for much more out of Mauricio Llovera and John Schreiber as Boston held onto a one-run deficit after Pivetta exited the game. Llovera inherited a jam in relief of Pivetta in the sixth but worked himself out of it to limit the damage, even after loading the bases. Threw a scoreless seventh, finishing it off by striking out Aaron Judge. Schreiber didn't allow a hit, working around a walk in the eighth before striking out the side in automatic fashion in the ninth to keep Boston alive. 

THREE DOWN 

Ceddanne Rafaela: Showed a lot of patience to take a walk in a big spot in the bottom of the ninth, but chased plenty of pitches earlier in the game as part of an 0-for-3 day with a pair of K's. Went down waving at pitches outside of the zone on each of his strikeouts. Killed the sixth-inning momentum as he threw his arms at a curveball in the dirt to end a nine-pitch at-bat. Swung at eight of the nine in that at-bat.

Justin Turner: Silent after a pretty strong weekend against the O’s. Went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Wasn’t prepared for Wandy Peralta and his quick-pitch style on his listless eighth-inning strikeout. Waved at a changeup below the zone for the K. 

Alex Verdugo: Finishes 1-for-5 with one strikeout. Like the swinging mentality in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, but with against a guy who can't find the right zip code, you'd probably like to see him take the first pitch. Even with the middle-middle pitch, he rolled it over. A chance gone by the wayside. 

NOTABLE 

It was just the Yankees' second win of the season over Boston.

Devers' 169 career home runs are just second to Jim Rice (172) for the most by any Red Sox player before turning 27. He joined Rice and Ted Williams as the third player in franchise history to have three 30 home run seasons before turning 27. 

It's the second time this season that Pivetta has had 10 strikeouts in a loss. The previous time was a 7.1-inning, 104-pitch effort that saw him allow three runs earned runs on five hits and no walks at Seattle on July 31. 

The announced attendance (paid tickets) was 30,029, which was the lowest attendance at Fenway for Red Sox-Yankees (not including COVID-restricted crowds in 2020 and 2021) since May 27, 1999. Would love to know how many tickets they actually scanned and people actually at the game.

In 10 games against Boston this season, Torres has a .343 average, three doubles, three home runs, six RBI and a 1.096 OPS.

QUOTE OF NOTE

Alex Cora on the game-ending double-play: “I don’t know the numbers of [Verdugo] against that guy, but I think he’s been really good. So it’s hard for me to second-guess or whatever his at-bats against him because he’s been really good against him, and that pitch was middle-middle."

UP NEXT

The Red Sox and Yankees will square off at 7:10 p.m. in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader. RHP Kutter Crawford (6-7, 4.36 ERA) is scheduled to face LHP Carlos Rodon (2-5, 6.60 ERA).