Sports on Draft

Savage Red Sox Humble the Yankees

With their season on the line and destiny in their hands Boston hosted the New York Yankees for the first time this season, at Fenway Park last night. Trailing the Yankees by 11 games for the division and 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race, the Red Sox put on a show for the 37,591 fans in Boston.

It was a record setting night for the Red Sox, one that culminated in the most points scored against the Yankees. With a 19-3 stomping of New York, the Sox tied their biggest blowout against New York, a 17-1 rout set back in 2005. It also marked the fourth game in a row this year that Boston has put up 8 runs or more against the Yankees, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1912

The beatdown began early, as the Sox put up 7 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. It got started with Mookie Betts’ line drive single to left field, followed by a Rafael Devers walk. Xander Bogaerts then crushed a towering 451 foot, the longest of his career, Home Run (22) to bring in the two putting the Sox up 3-0. Following a J.D. Martinez fly-out Andrew Benintendi and Brock Holt got on base with two singles each. Jackie Bradley Jr. than came to the plate and belted his 20th double of the season to bring in two more scores and extend the lead 5-0. The batting order than returned to the top and Betts brought Bradley home on a line drive double (26).

After the Yankees scraped back two runs in the top of the 2nd, flashbacks of the London slugfest were showing. The Sox went quiet in the 2nd and the 3rd saw no scoring either but the Red Sox weren’t done yet. With the first at-bat in the Bot 4th Rafael Devers continued his breakout year by belting his 21st home run of the season, tying last years total. After a Xander Bogaerts single, a plate argument and strikeout for J.D. Martinez ,and a Benintendi walk the Sox once again burned Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka with a Michael Chavis double (9) extending the lead to 9-2.

Two more batters, two more doubles and three more runs later and the Sox took a staggering 12-2 lead by the start of the 5th. The Yankees would get their 3rd and final run of the night off a Kyle Higashioka home run, his first of the year. The Sox, however, countered with another 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th, and this game was all but over.

The Sox scored again in the 6th when Mookie Betts hit the plate on a Rafael Devers double (31). Following a quiet 7th inning the Sox entered the 8th with no knowledge of the history soon to be made. With the lead off man in Jackie Bradley on base Sandy Leon stepped to the plate and gifted the Boston loyals with a 2-run HR (4) and the highest offensive output against the Yankees in the history of the rivalry.

Bogaerts crushed another HR (23) to pour the last bit of salt in the Yankees wounds. In a game that was definitely not shy of excitement the Red Sox clipped Tanaka for 12 runs, the most ever given up by a Yankees pitcher to the Red Sox, adding to the 6 runs they sniped on him in London.

The Red Sox are not the team they were last year, but that’s what made last year so special; it was a beautiful year for the city of Boston, one that ended in the most regular season wins (108) for the historic ball-club. This is not last year, and the ‘Sox find themselves on the outside looking in for both the Division and Wild-Card race. The silver lining, though, is that they control their own destiny, they are in the driver seat. With another 7 games against the Yankees scheduled in the next 10 days and a visit from Tampa Bay in between, Boston could all but lock up the Wild-Card spot and possibly tighten the division race to as low as 2 games back.

A difficult road lies ahead for Boston, but with the return of Nathan Eovaldi and Mitch Moreland the team seems to be feeling the vibes from last year and are gearing up for a second half postseason race, one thats sure to come down to the wire.

Tonight’s Pitching Lineup:

First Pitch @ 7:10 PM (EST)

NYY: LHP James Paxton (5-5, 4.20 ERA) – Paxton looks to erase last nights embarrassing loss and get above .500 for the season

BOS: RHP Andrew Cashner (9-5, 4.19 ERA) – Cashner still looking for his first win as the Red Sox new pitcher.