The New York Yankees could have clinched a playoff spot tonight with a win against the Red Sox and a loss from the Angels, Twins and Rangers. However, the Sox said that not under their watch. Boston sent Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound looking for a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Orioles, while the Yankees had Ivan Nova on their side. This marked Rodriguez’ last start of the season thanks to his 170 IP limit (including Pawtucket), however he ended his rookie year in a remarkable way.
After his on-base streak of 28 games ended yesterday, Mookie Betts began the game with a double and was advanced to third base on a groundout from Dustin Pedroia. Xander Bogaerts was trying to bring Betts home, but the center fielder was out at home after another groundout to third base. Even though Bogaerts reached to first, he tried to steal second base while Travis Shaw was batting but he was caught to end the inning.
The Yankees attacked first in the top half of the 1st after Jacoby Ellsbury doubled to begin the inning and scored thanks to a sac bunt from Brett Gardner and a sac fly from Alex Rodriguez. It seemed that E-Rod was in danger after Carlos Beltran and Chase Headley followed A-Rod sac fly with back-to-back hits, but the lefty struck out Greg Bird to end the inning. It was the only time the Yankees were able to score in the game.
New York threatened again in the bottom half of the second when they loaded the bases after Rob Refsnyder reached first base on a forceout, Ellsbury walked and Gardner got on base after an error from Pedroia. Rodriguez got the most important out of the game in his next batter, after striking out A-Rod on a 3-2 count and seven pitches. Even though the Red Sox lefty had a rough first two innings, he quickly settled in and never looked back. In the third inning Headley hit a hard fly ball to left field that could easily been a double, but with Jackie Bradley Jr. taking care of left field we all know it was going to be an easy out. Spoiler: It was not the only time Bradley Jr. did that during the game.
The Red Sox took the lead on the top half of the sixth after Bogaerts hit a double to left field and Shaw followed him with his 10th home run of the year. Rodriguez finally had some run support and was in route for a win. John Ryan Murphy began the bottom half of the sixth with a hard hit ball to left field, but it ended up having a similar faith to Headley’s previous out. Trying to hit a double to the section of the outfield where Bradley Jr. is fielding is like trying to get a date with Emma Watson: No one says it’s impossible, but it’s extremely likely that you will fail.
Talking about Bradley Jr… The left fielder gave the Red Sox more run support in the top half of the seventh with a two-run homer after Blake Swihart singled to center field. Heath Hembree replaced Rodriguez in the bottom half of the inning, but could only record an out after surrendering a single to Gardner. Noe Ramirez replaced Hembree and got A-Rod out on a double play to end the inning.
Matt Barnes replaced Ramirez in the bottom half of the eight and retired the three batters he faced. The Yankees sent Caleb Cotham to the top half of the ninth, but he gave up a home run to Deven Marrero, his first of the season. Robbie Ross Jr. replaced Barnes, while New York tried to rally in the bottom half of the ninth with a double from Murphy and a walk from Didi Gregorious. Refsnyder put Murphy in scoring position and got Murphy out at second after hitting a forceout that helped him to reach first base, but Ellsbury hit a fly out for the second out of the inning. However, while Gardner was batting Refsnyder stole second base and the Yankees had both runners in scoring position. Ross Jr. ended the game with a strikeout, and the Red Sox have now won four games in a row.
I do know about you but regardless of their record, I like this Red Sox team. It’s been a more entretaining September squad than the 2011-2012 and 2014 teams.
Game notes:
- Bogaerts has now 192 hits. It isn’t unrealistic to think that he will end the season with 200 or more.
- Rodriguez is the first Red Sox rookie since Daisuke Matsuzaka to finish his rookie season with at least 10 wins.
- Shaw is the first baseman with the third-most home runs since August 1st.
- The Red Sox are currently in third place of the AL East, and only have to win four of their next six games to finish their season with a .500 record.
Grades:
The Red Sox began the season with a lot of buzz surrounding them. The lack of a proven ace was a recurrent topic among fans and media, but it seems that the Red Sox finally have a starter with strong potential within him. Rodriguez ended his impressive rookie season the same way he started it: showing how hopeful the future is for Boston’s baseball.
The bullpen has been the suspense factor for the Red Sox. There are times when a four-run lead doesn’t feel safe, but they could also record five strikeouts in a row. This time, the bullpen delivered and got the outs when the team needed them the most. Even though Ross Jr. struggled in the last inning, he got the work done and finished the game with no harm.
It looked that the Red Sox were going to waste another strong outing from Rodriguez, but Travis Shaw finally gave the team a lead with his two-run shot. Even though Bradley Jr. started the game with a slump, he provided some run support for the Red Sox when it seemed that they were going to need it. As a team, the Red Sox struck out nine times but had ten hits.
The future looks more than bright for the Red Sox.