Yankees @ Red Sox Game Thread/ 12th- 14 August 2022

Judge hits homer No. 46, but Red Sox rally to beat Yanks 3-2
AP

BOSTON (AP) The New York Yankees still have a double-digit lead in the AL East and a chance to coast into the postseason.

What they do once they get there could depend on whether closer Clay Holmes can straighten things out in time.

Staked with a lead from Aaron Judge's 46th homer, the All-Star reliever walked back-to-back batters in the ninth and then gave up a tying single to J.D. Martinez on Friday night. Tommy Pham delivered the walk-off hit in the 10th to lead the last-place Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the first-place Yankees and send New York to its eighth loss in nine games.

''He struggled with strikes there obviously. That's a situation we've got to get the strike thrown,'' Yankees manger Aaron Boone said. ''It's just a matter of getting him locked in mechanically and letting it rip.''

New York pitchers retired 12 straight Boston batters before Holmes walked two with one out in the ninth and then gave up Martinez's single up the middle. Holmes was 4-0 with an 0.47 ERA and 16 saves in 17 tries on July 7; since then, he is 1-3 with four blown saves while giving up 11 earned runs in 11 innings.

Asked if Holmes would remain as closer, Boone said, ''We'll see.''

''I'll try to put in him in the best positions to be successful. Some nights that will be the ninth,'' Boone said. ''But we'll keep working with him. Got to get him consistent.''

Judge, who had his major league-leading 46th homer and 100th RBI in the third inning, reached base for the fourth time when he was walked to lead off the 10th. But Garrett Whitlock fanned Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres to end the threat.

In the bottom half, automatic runner Christian Arroyo took third on a groundout and then stayed there on pinch-hitter Reese McGuire's bunt single. Pham, a trade deadline acquisition, punched one down the third-base line to spark a celebration in the sold-out crowd - or at least the portion trying to outshout the visiting Yankee fans.

''When they come into town, we expect this. We expect games like that,'' said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whose team has won its last three games against the Yankees in Boston. ''They have an outstanding team, but we've played well against them the last three times.''

Cora insisted that he Red Sox, who are in seventh place and four games out in the race for three wild-card spots, still have a chance to make the playoffs.

''I've been saying that for a while,'' he said. ''Not too many people believe me. But I think the people that really matter, they believe it. That's the people in here.''

Whitlock (3-2) struck out three and walked one in two innings.

Lou Trivino (1-7) allowed two hits and recorded one out for the Yankees, who lost their third straight game.

Judge hit the first pitch of the third inning 429 feet, over the Monster Seats and onto Lansdowne Street; he is on a pace to hit 66 home runs. He also walked twice and was hit by a pitch, reaching base at least three times for the fifth game in a row.

Jose Trevino had two hits, and Anthony Rizzo had a first-inning double to drive in Judge.

FOR STARTERS

Yankees starter Domingo German was charged with one run on five hits and two walks, striking out four in six innings.

Nathan Eovaldi dodged the loss when the Red Sox rallied in the ninth. He allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out three in six innings.

INFIELD SPRY

With Andrew Benintendi on first and Trevino at the plate, Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts let a popup drop, then flipped it to second base for the force out. The decision left Trevino at first instead of Benintendi, a faster runner.

SHORT HOPS

Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson threw out a ceremonial first pitch. ... The Red Sox played a highlight video for Benintendi, a member of the 2018 World Series championship team. He had not played in Fenway Park since the Red Sox traded him to Kansas City before the 2021 season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Yankees: Donaldson shook it off after going over the dugout railing in pursuit of a foul popup. He remained in the game.

Red Sox: Kike Hernandez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in a rehab appearance for the Double-A Portland SeaDogs. He batted second and played center field. He could rejoin the Red Sox as soon as Tuesday. ... RHP Tyler Danish also appeared for Portland, allowing one run on one hit and two walks in one inning, striking out two.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Frankie Montas (4-9) pitches for New York against Boston's Kutter Crawford (3-4) in Game 2 of the three-game series.

Boston Red Sox come back to beat Yankees, 3-2, in extras; Tommy Pham’s walk-off single wins it

Updated: Aug. 12, 2022, 11:47 p.m.|Published: Aug. 12, 2022, 10:39 p.m.


By

Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

BOSTON -- Tommy Pham is quickly making himself at home at Fenway Park.

Pham, who hit three homers in as many games earlier in the week, gave the Red Sox a dramatic win Friday night with a walk-off single in the 10th inning that finished off a 3-2 comeback win over the Yankees. One inning after Boston rallied to tie the game, Pham drove in automatic runner Christian Arroyo to give the Red Sox their second walk-off victory of the season (and their second walk-off win over the Yankees in a month).

Boston trailed for the entire game before the ninth, when Clay Holmes issued back-to-back walks and J.D. Martinez tied the game with an RBI single. Garrett Whitlock’s shutdown effort in the top of the 10th paved the way for Boston’s rally as the club improved to 56-58 with its second straight victory.

New York, which came in 1-7 in its last eight games, opened the scoring in the top of the first. Eovaldi issued a one-out walk to Judge on a questionable 3-2 pitch, then paid the price when Anthony Rizzo roped an RBI double to right field. Judge then put the Yankees up 2-0 with his league-leading 46th home run of the year in the third, clearing the Green Monster with a 429-foot blast.

Boston drew back within a run in the fourth, when Alex Verdugo hit a leadoff double and scored when Martinez singled through the middle. But that was all Boston could do against starter Domingo Germán, who struck out four and allowed a single run in six innings.

The Red Sox had early chances but grounded into double plays in the second, fourth and sixth. After righty Scott Effross pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, lefty Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a perfect eighth.

Boston’s bats couldn’t get much going all night before running into a wild Holmes in the ninth. After getting Rafael Devers to ground out, Holmes issued back-to-back walks to Xander Bogaerts and Verdugo before Martinez tied the game with a single up the middle that put Bogaerts -- the would-be winning run -- on third. Lefty Wandy Peralta struck out Eric Hosmer and got Christian Arroyo to line out to send the game to extras. In the top of the 10th, Whitlock -- who was aggressively used in a game the Red Sox were trailing by a run for the first time all season -- walked Judge to lead off the inning, then struck out two in a row to end the threat. He punched out Gleyber Torres with two men in scoring position to end the inning.

Arroyo advanced to third when Jaylin Davis tapped out to the pitcher, Lou Trivino, then failed to score on a Reese McGuire bunt single. With one out, Pham laced a Trivino pitch down the third base line for his third career walk-off victory.

Eovaldi, despite not flashing much swing-and-miss stuff, pitched well, working around three hits and two walks to allow only two runs. He took a no decision. Martinez led the way offensively with the Red Sox with three hits, marking his 10th 3+ hit game of 2022.
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Benintendi, returns goes 1-for-4

Former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi returned to Fenway as a visiting player for the first time Friday night. The Red Sox played a tribute video for him before he led off the second inning and he received a smattering of applause from the fans before stepping into the batter’s box.

Benintendi was 1-for-4 with a single. He’s now hitting .182 (8-for-44) with four doubles and five RBIs in 14 games since being traded from the Royals to the Yankees.

Crawford up Saturday

Impressive rookie righty Kutter Crawford (3-4, 4.30 ERA) will start Saturday night’s game with former Red Sox farmhand (and recent trade acquisition) Frankie Montas (4-9, 3.59 ERA) on the mound for the Yankees.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET. The game will air on FOX.

Boston Red Sox use Garrett Whitlock while losing close game for first time all season, he responds by dominating with 97 mph fastballs

Updated: Aug. 13, 2022, 3:25 a.m.|Published: Aug. 13, 2022, 1:37 a.m.

By

Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

BOSTON -- Garrett Whitlock tends to only come in when the Red Sox are winning and want to step on the necks of their opponents. On Friday night, he entered in a different situation... and still played a major role in a big Boston win.

Boston was trailing, 2-1, when manager Alex Cora called upon Whitlock for the top of the ninth inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning, then watched from the dugout as his team’s offense defrosted and broke through to tie things up on a J.D. Martinez single. Whitlock then escaped a treacherous jam -- New York had men on second and third after a double steal -- in the top of the 10th to keep the game tied so Tommy Pham could win it with a walk-off single in the 10th.

The decision to use Whitlock in a game the Red Sox were losing was an aggressive move, and one that paid off. Cora explained that because the Red Sox were short on bullpen arms after using John Schreiber for two innings in Thursday’s win, using Whitlock was a necessity. But Cora also acknowledged that the Sox felt like they had a chance to come back and win with their top hitters, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo, set to hit in the ninth against struggling Yankees closer Clay Holmes. Holmes entered Friday with a 9.64 ERA in his last 10 appearances dating back to July 12. So Cora chased a win.

“Nothing against their guy but we know what’s going on the last month,” Cora said. “So keep it in check, too. We had the two lefties coming up with Raffy and Verdugo hitting behind Xander. So we rolled the dice there. It was out of necessity, but at the same time, tried to maximize our lineup, understanding that he was coming in and he has struggled since the last time he was here.”

Cora’s gamble paid off in the ninth. Holmes was all over the place and issued back-to-back one-out walks to Bogaerts and Verdugo before Martinez singled up the middle to tie it. The Yankees had to call upon lefty Wandy Peralta to strand Bogaerts on third and send it to extras. Then, in the 10th, Whitlock navigated the meat of New York’s lineup deftly. He walked Aaron Judge but battled back to record three straight outs, striking out Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres to vanquish the threat.
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“When he came in and shut it down like that, I knew we were going to win,” said Pham. “It was destiny. To get through their (Nos.) 2, 3 and 4 (hitters) in that lineup, that says something about Whit.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Whitlock said. “That’s why you enjoy playing the game and everything, just the competition. Those are some of the best guys in the world. It’s a lot of fun to try to put your best against their best.”

Whitlock has been effective as a reliever all season but seemed to reach another gear Friday night. His fastball, which has averaged 95.2 mph this season, was up to 96.9 mph on average and maxed out at 98.2 mph, which is the hardest pitch he has thrown all season. He got six whiffs on nine swings with the pitch. To put it simply, he was amped up.

“I’ve been working with (pitching coaches Dave Bush and Kevin Walker) trying to get mechanics right and everything but yeah, adrenaline definitely had something to do with it,” Whitlock said.

Whitlock kept his adrenaline in check coming off the mound after striking out Torres to end the 10th. He walked off the mound slowly without any demonstrative emotions despite how a sellout crowd of 36,434 going ballistic.

“I was just thinking about the next inning,” Whitlock said, though there wouldn’t be another inning for him thanks to Pham and Boston’s offense.

Whitlock was encouraged by his outing Friday after giving up runs in each of his last two appearances, including a walk-off homer to Nick Pratto in Kansas City on Saturday. To Whitlock, who now has a career 1.81 ERA in 99⅔ innings as a reliever, any sort of damage represents struggles. Cora always says Whitlock only gives up runs because he’s human. But Whitlock, always hard on himself, considers it a failure if he doesn’t put up zeroes out of the bullpen.

“He asked me the other day, ‘What do I need to do?’ because they scored two runs in six innings or whatever,” Cora said. “I said, ‘Just keep throwing strikes and using your weapons the way you’ve been doing.’”

The righty is already looking forward to his next outing.

“Tonight was good, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Whitlock said. “I beat myself up over that Kansas City one but just try to move forward. Tomorrow’s a new day so we’ll go there.”

Whitlock goes into 'airplane' mode in win over Yanks
1:48 AM ADT
Ian Browne

Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne


BOSTON -- Before the hysteria created by Tommy Pham’s walk-off hit in his dramatic introduction to the storied Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, you had Garrett Whitlock going into “airplane“ mode.

“It’s a joke,” J.D. Martinez said of the filthy offerings of Whitlock. “I was talking about it earlier today. I was like, ‘Dude, he’s not even throwing a sinker. You can call it like an airplane or something, just taking off.’ When he’s like that, good luck.”

It was Whitlock, stone-cold under pressure in the final two innings, who got the win, retiring six of the seven batters he faced -- three on strikeouts. Without Whitlock, this come-from-behind, 3-2 win over the Yankees in 10 innings on Friday night at Fenway Park would not have been possible.


It was semi-surprising that Red Sox manager Alex Cora went to Whitlock with his team trailing, 2-1, to start the ninth. Whitlock typically only pitches when his team is tied or ahead.

But these are different times in Boston. Closer Tanner Houck, Whitlock’s best friend, is on the injured list with an ailing back. John Schreiber, the team’s other leverage reliever, was down for the night after pitching two innings to close out Thursday’s win.

“We’re very short [in the bullpen],” said Cora. “And going to him there, it was just out of necessity more than anything else. Nothing against their guy [Clay Holmes], but we know what's been going on the last month. We had the two lefties coming up with Raffy [Devers] and [Alex] Verdugo hitting behind Xander [Bogaerts].

“We rolled the dice there. It was out of necessity, but at the same time, trying to maximize our lineup, understanding he was coming in and he’s struggled since the last time he was here.”

That roll of the dice came up aces, as Holmes walked Bogaerts and Verdugo back to back with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and Martinez drilled his third hit of the night, an RBI single to center that brought home the tying run.

Whitlock still had more work to do, this time with Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres looming in the 10th.

The crowd of 36,434 surged with energy as Whitlock worked around a leadoff walk to Judge after a full count, then retired the dangerous Rizzo on a lineout and struck out Donaldson and Torres with overpowering pitches.

Whitlock threw his hardest pitch of the season to Judge, a 98.2 mph sinker. He ramped up between 96.7-97.3 in the at-bats against the next three batters.

“I have been working with [pitching coach Dave Bush and bullpen coach Kevin Walker] to try and get mechanics right,” said Whitlock. “But the adrenaline definitely had something to do with it.”

The adrenaline Whitlock gathered from the crowd transferred to his offense.

“To come in there in that situation, in that part of the order as well, that's huge,” said Pham. “When he came in there and shut it down like that, I knew we were gonna win. It was destined. To get through their two, three, four in that lineup, that says something about Whit.”


It was Pham who ended it, roping a single down the third-base line with runners at the corners and one out in the bottom of the 10th.

At this point, the Red Sox are scratching and clawing to stay in postseason contention, knowing that they have several key players on the injured list (Kiké Hernández, Michael Wacha, Trevor Story and Houck) who could fortify them for the final stretch.

With 48 games left, Boston is four back in the American League Wild Card standings. The Sox must climb over three other teams to get to that coveted spot. Cora is managing like he still believes there is a chance.

“I’ve been saying that for a while,” said Cora. “Not too many people believe me. I think people that really matter, they believe it, and that’s the people in there [in the clubhouse]. We just have to keep playing. There’s a winning streak somewhere, and this is a good baseball team that’s going to get healthy, and that’s what people haven’t seen, but that’s not their job. It's my job to keep them positive and keep pushing, and the coaching staff is doing an amazing job.”