After a break for the All-Star activities in San Diego, the Boston Red Sox returned to regular season action last night against the New York Yankees.
The Boston Red Sox wasted no time getting into the second half grove with an impressive win in Yankee Stadium on Friday Night. Steven Wright, fresh off his first All-Star selection, got the start against Michael Pineda for New York.
Boston largely dominated the game, starting on the mound with Wright. A dribbler from Alex Rodriguez near the third base line in the fifth inning would be the only blemish against Wright through five. In the third, veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan smashed a home run into the outstretched cap of Robbie Ross in the Red Sox bullpen to open the score, 1-0. An absolute bomb from Travis Shaw in the fifth stretched the score to 3-0. Shaw’s home run was followed next inning by another 2-run homer from Xander Bogaerts.
The 5-0 lead was all the Sox pitchers would need. A long sixth inning at the plate forced starter Steven Wright to wait and watch nearly a half-an-hour before again taking the mound in the sixth, and the results weren’t ideal. The 31-year old had the bases loaded and surrendered 3 earned runs in the inning, cutting the Red Sox lead to 5-3.
Manager John Farrell made the right move and sent newly acquired Brad Ziegler out to pitch the seventh. The 36-year old submarine-pitcher worked a quick 1-2-3 inning. Robbie Ross commanded a scoreless eighth, and Koji Uehara earned his fifth save of the year, in place of the injured Craig Kimbrel. Wright earned his 11th win and actually raised his ERA to 2.78.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
| Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
It was an efficient start to the second half of the 2016 season, where the long ball was wild and the pitching nearly flawless (9 IP/ 4 H/ BB/ 6 K). Barring a little sixth inning drama, the Sox were in total control, and could have easily cruised to a shutout victory. For the Bronx Bombers, another rough night at the plate has to be discouraging for the club, which may need to really consider a seller’s mentality as the trade deadline.
Next: Red Sox: My Interview With ESPN's Dan Shulman
The Red Sox will head into tomorrow’s game (4:05 ET) on a five-game win streak. On the bump will be recently called-up Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3 8.59 ERA) against C.C. Sabathia (5-6 3.77 ERA).