Focus on Judge Allows Rest of Yankees Offense to Excel in Sweep Over Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox came into the Bronx to face off against the New York Yankees in a four game set at Yankee Stadium. Jameson Taillon got the start for the Yankees. It was a scoreless affair until the bottom of the fifth inning when Kyle Higashioka put the Yanks up 1-0 with a sacrifice fly. Taillon tosses six fantastic innings for the Yanks with zero earned runs and eight strikeouts. The Yankees added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth when Giancarlo Stanton blasted a two run shot to make it 3-0. Clarke Schmidt came on for the Yanks in the seventh. He did not have it. He allowed a solo homer to Triston Casas to make it a 3-1 ballgame, and later that inning Schmidt allowed the go - ahead home run to Reese McGuire who put the Red Sox up 4-3. Aroldis Chapman came out for the eighth for the Yankees, and he struggled as well. He was pulled after loading the bases, and only recording one out. Lou Trivino came on to get the Yankees out of the jam. Trivino successfully escaped the jam and kept it a one run game. The Yankees tied up the game in the eighth off of a Harrison Bader sac fly. He has made an instant impact since joining the Yankees. Clay Holmes came in for the ninth, and he tossed a shutout ninth inning to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the ninth Aaron Judge stepped to the plate with a chance to tie Roger Maris’s home run record and walk it off for the Yankees. Judge almost did both as he drove a baseball all the way to the warning track, but the ball was caught at the wall. Holmes went back out for the tenth, and he held the Red Sox again as the game remained tied. The Yankees would put an end to this ballgame in the bottom of the tenth when Josh Donaldson hit a walk off single to win it for the Yanks. This 5-4 victory clinched a playoff berth for the Yankees.
Gerrit Cole took the ball in game two of this four game set against the Red Sox. The Red Sox got to him early as Tommy Pham hit a solo home run in the first inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. The Yankees tied it up in the third off of an Aaron Hicks solo homer. The Yanks took the lead in the fifth when Aaron Hicks hit an RBI single to make it 2-1. Later that inning Gleyber Torres continued his hot streak when he ripped a two run double to give the Yankees some much needed insurance runs and make it 4-1. In the top of the sixth Gerrit Cole gave up a game tying home run to Alex Verdugo. Cole has hit a rough patch of his season, and all Yankees’ fans hope he gets right before the postseason. Cole was pulled after six innings and four earned runs. Ron Marinaccio threw a scoreless seventh inning, and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a scoreless eighth inning. The Yanks took the lead in the eighth on a Jose Trevino RBI single. Jonathan Loaisiga came back out for the ninth and picked up the save. The Yankees took game two of the series by a score of 5-4.
Domingo German got the start for the Yankees in game three of the four game set against Boston, The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead on a Gleyber Torres solo homer. He has really been swinging that bat well lately. That is a great sign heading into the playoffs. Boston took a 2-1 lead in the second off of a Triston Casas two run shot. Later that inning Reese McGuire hit a solo home run to make it 3-1. The Yankees got one of those runs back in the bottom of the second off of an Isiah Kiner - Falefa RBI single. The Yankees took a 4-3 lead in the fourth off of an Oswaldo Cabrera two run home run. Cabrera has really provided a spark for this Yankee team.
German’s outing ended after five innings with three earned runs. The Yankees made it 5-3 in the fifth from a Josh Donaldson RBI single. Zack Britton made his first appearance of the season in the sixth inning. He struggled in his return. He gave up a run on a bases loaded walk. He was pulled after only recording an out. Lou Trivino came on to get the Yankees out of this bases loaded one out jam. Trivino escaped the jam. Lou Trivino came back out for the seventh. He recorded an out, but was pulled after letting a runner on. Lucas Luetge came on to finish the inning. Luetge gave up a game tying single to Alex Verdugo, but that was Trivino’s earned run. The Yankees took the lead in the seventh when Anthony Rizzo hit a big two run home run to give the Yankees a 7-5 lead. Clarke Schmidt came out for the eighth and threw a scoreless inning. Scott Effross then made his first appearance since returning from the IL. He came on to pick up the save for the Yankees in this 7-5 ballgame. Effross picked up the save, and the Yankees won. The Yankees secured the series victory in this 7-5 ballgame.
Nestor Cortes Jr toed the slab in game four of the four game set against the Red Sox as the Yankees were looking to complete the sweep. The Yanks grabbed a 1-0 lead from a Jose Trevino RBI single in the fourth. It became 2-0 in the sixth when Marwin Gonzalez hit a high fly ball to right that was dropped and allowed Hicks to score on the play. Nestor dealt in this one. He threw six shutout innings with five strikeouts. This game was called after six innings due to rain, so the Yankees picked up this 2-0 victory over the Red Sox. The Yankees swept the four game set against Boston, and now they will head to Toronto to play the Blue Jays in a three game set.
By: Riley Briggs