Red Sox offensive onslaught makes statement in win over Yankees

The Boston Red Sox lineup exploded to destroy the New York Yankees in the first game of their four-game set at Fenway Park.

Now, that’s how you make a statement! Clinging to the last shreds of hope that they can still climb back into the AL East race, the Boston Red Sox desperately needed to prove they can hang with the division-leading New York Yankees.

Dropping a season-high 19 runs on the Bronx Bombers sends that message loud and clear. The four-game series is far from over but the Red Sox grabbed momentum with an offensive explosion that leaves their opponent rattled.

Those 19 runs came on a staggering 23 hits. Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit. Michael Chavis, who filled in after Brock Holt was ejected for arguing a called third strike in the third inning, collected a pair of hits off the bench.

Boston tied an American League record with eight players collecting multiple RBI. They are the 8th AL team to accomplish the feat and the first to do so since the 2007 Rangers vs. Baltimore on August 22, 2007. J.D. Martinez and Holt were the only members of the starting lineup without an RBI, although Holt didn’t stick around long and Chavis knocked in a pair of runs in his place.

The Red Sox jumped on Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka out of the gate. They struck quickly with the first two batters getting on base ahead of Xander Bogaerts, who hit a mammoth 451-foot home run over the Monster seats – the longest home run of his career.

A seven-run opening frame would end up being Boston’s highest-scoring first inning against the Yankees since September 26, 1989.

Surprisingly, the Yankees kept Tanaka in the game after that first-inning beatdown. Tanaka would end up allowing 12 earned runs over 3 1/3 innings, the most a Yankees pitcher has allowed to the Red Sox since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913.

Tanaka has now surrendered 18 earned runs in four innings against the Red Sox this season for a repulsive 40.50 ERA. Boston has hammered him with three homers and 16 hits while batting .593 against the Yankees ace. Tanaka’s 5.64 career ERA against the Red Sox is the third-highest against any team he’s faced more than twice.

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It’s hard to stand out in a crowd that does this much collective damage yet Bogaerts managed to shine the brightest. He added the exclamation point to this offensive barrage with his second home run of the game in the eighth inning, capping a four-hit performance that included four RBI. Bogaerts now ranks third in the league with 80 RBI, one behind teammate Rafael Devers, who drove in a pair of runs in this game.

The Red Sox lead the majors with 601 runs scored. Their average of 5.78 runs per game has them ahead of last year’s pace when they averaged 5.41.

Boston has now scored 8+ runs in each of their last four games against the Yankees, the longest such streak since 1912. Granted, their record is a mere 2-2 in those games but it goes to show that the Red Sox aren’t the only team with pitching problems when these rivals meet.

No matter how many runs you score, the game only counts as one win. That leaves the Red Sox 10 behind the Yankees in the division standings. This series isn’t really about catching the Yankees. It’s about standing up to them, showing no fear and proving they can compete against another elite team.

If Boston can build on the statement they made to open this series it could fuel a second-half run that vaults them back into the playoffs. Armed with this evidence of the damage they can do against a team like the Yankees, the Red Sox would be a dangerous team if they are allowed back on the postseason stage.