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Red Sox Recap: Rubber Match Goes Yankees Way, 8-6

By Brandon Nickel |

In the last game before the All-Star Break begins, the Boston Red Sox hosted the New York Yankees. Just 5.5 games back of New York in the American League East division, the Red Sox were looking to end the first half of the year with some real momentum.

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On the mound for the Fenway Park faithful was Wade Miley. The lefty allowed a combined nine runs in his last three starts, throwing for 18.0 innings. His counterpart for the Yankees was Nathan Eovaldi. The righty went 2-0 in his last three starts, allowing a combined four runs in 16.2 innings of work.

If anyone was thinking that this game was going to be a defensive stalemate, they would have been dead wrong on this day game. The wind was moving briskly at 9 mph out to center field, over 37 000 members of Red Sox Nation watched as their team slowly was pounded by the Yankees, with a bit of a late comeback of their own.

In the top of the second inning, after throwing three straight pitches low and away, Miley threw a 91-mph fastball to the outside part of the plate which was high enough for Yankees catcher Brian McCann to drive over the Green Monster, scoring Mark Teixeira in the process. When you give a veteran hitter three looks at the same spot you hit with your pitches, a pitch slightly higher in the strike zone is what he’s gauging to hit. Poor strategy, poor execution, and poor result for Miley and the Red Sox in that inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, like many recent games for Boston, the Red Sox responded with their own offense. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts singled to center field to score Ryan Hanigan. The next batter was third baseman Pablo Sandoval who singled to right field to cash in Mookie Betts. A coach’s visit to the mound did not help Eovaldi, as the next batter was the designated hitter for the day Hanley Ramirez who belted a single to center field to score Bogaerts to bookend the frame with a 3-2 lead for the Red Sox.

Not to be outdone, the Yankees scored again in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, with shortstop Didi Gregorius batting, Miley was found to have balked which allowed McCann to score from third base. If that nightmare wasn’t enough, in the sixth inning, an Alex Rodriguez double to center field brought a chorus of boos from the home crowd and a run scored by Brett Gardner. Two batters later, right fielder Chris Young hit a double of his own to left field to score A-Rod, again to a chorus of boos.

A pitching change did not change much, as Tommy Layne relieving Miley was met by a Chase Headley double to left field, scoring Young. Three doubles helped the Yankees take the lead back, 6-3.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Red Sox responded again, but not like the last time. Boston’s returning Hawaiian outfielder Shane Victorino singled to right field off of Yankees relief pitcher Adam Warren, scoring Ramirez to bring them back within two runs.

Then, what seemed just a side note to the series ended up being the deciding factor in the game. Yankees second baseman Rob Refsnyder was recently called up and introduced to the majors by being a part of the biggest rivalry in baseball history. He’s been looking for his first ever hit at this level, bringing his whole family to watch the games in the stands. They had been charmingly disappointed, as he was skunked last night and looked to be continuing the trend today. Fans of both the Yankees and Red Sox watched and hoped that the kid could get one base hit to show his family that he could make it in the majors. Instead, after a base hit in the top of the seventh inning, Refsnyder drove a home run over the Green Monster that scored Headley to put the Yankees up 8-4.

Red Sox Nation, and especially relief pitcher Alexi Ogando, found Refsnyder much less charming after that.

That’s alright, because Refsnyder returned the favor in the bottom of the ninth, as he misplayed catching a ball tossed to him to get the force out. Brock Holt scored on the error. Red Sox outfielder Alejandro De Aza also hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Deven Marrero.

However, it was too late. The final score was 8-6 in favor of the Yankees.

Game Notes:

  • Red Sox David Ortiz sat out today’s game with a respiratory infection. Travis Shaw played first base and Hanley Ramirez filled in as the designated hitter, with De Aza playing left field and Victorino playing right field. Lots of shuffling for one player.
  • The Red Sox went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 men on base. The Yankees had a 4-for-10 RISP, with three men left on base. The Yankees had 11 hits, with a walk, to the Red Sox total of 12 hits, with two walks.
  • Bogaerts, Ramirez, and De Aza had two hits to lead the team, while Shaw went 0-for-2. Mike Napoli substituted for Shaw in the bottom of the sixth inning, due to Yankee relievers coming into the game. Napoli went 1-for-2 at the plate.

Grades:

. . <strong>Wade Miley</strong>. STARTING PITCHING . D-

The home run in the second inning spoke of the entire game for Miley. He threw 93 pitches, 54 for strikes, and had seven groundouts to four flyouts. It wasn’t like Miley was not hitting the strike zone; it was because he would hit the same spots repeatedly, allowing the Yankees to gauge where the next pitch would be and drill it hard. Miley allowed six runs on seven hits, no walks, and two strikeouts. Not a bad day for his arm, but a bad day for his strategy. If the mental mistakes didn’t happen, his day would have went much better. Six runs is six runs, no matter how you look at where he located his pitches.

RELIEF PITCHING . C-. . . <strong>The Bullpen</strong>

If it wasn’t for the offense, nobody would have noticed the score and Miley would have been left alone to take the blame. However, because the score ended so close, some of that blame just spilled right on top of that bullpen. Layne may not have had a runner charged to him, but his mistake allowed the scoreboard to change again in favor of the Yankees. Ogando got lit up for a two-run blast by a baby-faced rookie. Ouch! Breslow is the only one that didn’t have much to worry about, but that’s because he only had to get one out. If the bullpen did its job and shut the door on the Yankees, the Red Sox would have been able to either win or, at least, tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Could have. Should have. Didn’t. Game over.

<strong>Bogaerts, Ramirez, and De Aza</strong>. OFFENSE . B+. . Game Ball

With Ortiz not in the lineup, the Red Sox could have folded early. However, each of them fought hard at the plate. De Aza pushed Eovaldi early by forcing an eight-pitch at-bat, when it seemed that he would mow down all of the Red Sox, showing Boston that a base hit was possible. Ramirez and Bogaerts continued to produce as well. When the team hits in double digits and scores six runs, however late, the team can’t be judged too harshly. Especially when only one batter in the lineup did not get a base hit. Even the substitutes hit the ball today. Not bad, considering the loss.

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