BSJ Game Report: Yankees 8, Red Sox 5 - New York pulls away late as Boston settles for doubleheader split

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

Yankees thrive on home runs, pull away late to split doubleheader and take series from Sox: After dismissing Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox looked encouraging in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader thanks to a solo homer for Ceddanne Rafaela and a three-run shot for Trevor Story backing up six strong, scoreless innings from Tanner Houck in the 5-0 victory. 

The nightcap proved to be a different story in an 8-5 win for the Yankees, who took the series, 3-1, with the split of the doubleheader, thanks to their reliance on the home run ball. After Boston opened a 2-0 lead in the first, an Aaron Judge grand slam led a five-run second inning for New York. After the Sox fought back to tie it, aided by a Rafael Devers solo homer, the Yankees retook the lead in the eighth before Oswaldo Cabrera's two-run shot added insurance in the ninth for the 8-5 final. 

TURNING POINT

Top of the eighth and ninth: Moments after the Red Sox scratched across the tying run in the bottom of the seventh, Mauricio Llovera quickly found himself in trouble in the top of the eighth. A pair of singles created traffic on the bases for DJ LeMahieu, whose two-out RBI double scored the game-winning run. In the top of the ninth, after hitting Estevan Florial, John Schreiber left a middle-middle slider over the plate for Cabrera to take deep and give the Yankees much-needed breathing room. 

THREE UP

Ceddanne Rafaela: Had a great day across both games. Went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in the day game with the homer giving Boston a 2-0 cushion in the top of the seventh. In the nightcap, went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs. 

Rafael Devers: Another solid day in both games. As the DH in Game 1, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Was even better Game 2, going 3-for-3 with a walk in addition to yet another home run against the Yankees. 

Wilyer Abreu: Like Devers and Rafaela, was good across both games, especially at the plate. Went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run in Game 1 before going 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in Game 2. Fair to question why he was pinch-hit for late in the game, given how good he had been throughout the day. Nice job of going the other way on his RBI single in the first. 

FIVE DOWN

Brennan Bernardino: Just a horrendous second inning in the bullpen game that was Game 2. Struggled with walks. Should have gotten out of the inning before Judge came to the plate before leaving a sinker too far over the plate, which was taken for a 110-mph ride to dead center. Even after the damage on the scoreboard, struggled to land the final out of the inning. Threw 38 pitches in the one inning (Brandon Walter threw 42 over three). 

Masataka Yoshida: Went 0-for-4 and never got out of the infield – three groundouts and one lineout. Three of his at-bats came with runners in scoring position. Had a chance to give Boston the lead with RISP and two gone in the seventh. 

Mauricio Llovera and John Schreiber: Llovera had a shaky seventh, giving up the go-ahead run on the LeMahieu double after a pair of singles. Lucky to have not given up more, thanks to a running catch by Alex Verdugo in the corner in right after Llovera left a sinker in the heart of the zone for Gleyber Torres. Schreiber completely missed his spot on the Cabrera home run. Left a slider middle-middle for the taking. 

Chaim Bloom: The nightcap was a bit of a microcosm of the team's shortcomings this season under Bloom, especially on the mound. With James Paxton on the shelf and Chris Sale's start pushed back from Thursday, Boston had to turn to the bullpen for the series finale. Once again with the opener/bullpen game, the results left a lot to be desired. He needed to address the pitching staff in the offseason, and failed to do so in a meaningful way. That's been on display as this staff has fallen apart over the last month-plus, and it's got to be one of the more notable reasons he was fired today.

NOTABLE 

Devers hit his sixth home run of the season and the 25th of his career against the Yankees. He ranks ninth in franchise history for home runs against New York. He now sits 13th in franchise history with 170 home runs.

Triston Casas leads all MLB rookies with 70 walks. 

QUOTE OF NOTE

"I've been through this twice already," Alex Cora said of Bloom's dismissal after Game 1. "Me and him, we grew up a lot these last few years. It's like your business, you don't agree with everything that your partners do or think, right? But at the end of the day, you guys work together for the benefit of your business, so it's the same thing here. Same thing with Dave [Dombrowski]. I didn't agree with some stuff that he decided. But at the end of the day, you work for the Red Sox, and you try to do your best on a daily basis to be successful. That was the same thing with Chaim. I learned a lot about the other part of the game, just like with Dave. There are some mistakes I've made throughout the years that I want to keep getting better at it. I want to learn a lot of stuff throughout the years and keep growing as a baseball man."

UP NEXT

The Red Sox will hit the road for a six-game swing with three in Toronto and three in Texas. Friday’s first pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. against the Blue Jays. RHP Brayan Bello (12-8, 3.68 ERA) is set to face RHP Jose Berrios (10-10, 3.63 ERA).