Lucas Giolito gave the Red Sox a chance to win with 5.2 innings of two-run (one earned) ball.
So did Yankees starter Luis Gil, who pitched six of the messiest hitless innings in recent memory: four walks, two wild pitches.
Yet in the absence of clutch hitting – or hitting of any kind – the Red Sox squandered the night. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, left seven men on base, and lost 4-1.
At least it wasn’t boring. Games between these rivals seldom are.
Roughly sixty seconds after first pitch, Aaron Judge sent Giolito’s 0-1 four-seamer 468 feet into the Yankees history books. The Yankees captain’s 47th home run of the year pushed him past Joe DiMaggio for sole possession of fourth all-time in his club’s history. Judge’s 362 career home runs are the most by a right-handed Yankee. Only Lou Gehrig (493), Mickey Mantle (536), and Babe Ruth (659) remain unconquered.
The Yankees took one issue after another.
After the top of the first, several Yankees batters congregated on the third base line with manager Aaron Boone and the umpires. They wanted to challenge Giancarlo Stanton’s inning-ending strikeout-looking on the basis of catcher’s interference by Carlos Narváez. The umpires told Boone he had waited too long, and the agitated visitors stalked back to their dugout.
Boone was quicker to the draw in the top of the third. Instead of an inning-ending flyout to left, Ben Rice was sent to first base on catcher’s interference. Cody Bellinger’s RBI single doubled New York’s lead before Giolito could end the inning for good.
Gil complained that the mound was slick, and the grounds crew came out to work on it in between innings.
When the Red Sox worked two walks to begin the fifth and the crowd came alive with roaring intensity, Gil claimed his PitchCom wasn’t working.
As Red Sox legends Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, and Dennis Eckersley looked on from various vantage points in the ballpark, their successors played without success. Gil entered the contest averaging 2.0 runs, 4.4 hits, and 3.3 walks per game in seven starts this season. He exited charged with four strikeouts, four walks, two wild pitches, and nothing else.
A messy top of the seventh came back to haunt the Red Sox when it was their turn to bat. José Caballero put Boston off-balance with a one-out ground-rule double and steal of third, and an error by David Hamilton brought him home. Intentionally walking Judge was the obvious move, but it backfired when Ben Rice followed with an RBI single.
Nate Eaton’s first home run of the season finally brought New York’s no-hit bid ended with two outs in the seventh.
Like a bowling ball knocking down a pin, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s single collided with pinch-runner Jasson Dominguez for an unassisted first out in the eighth. Chisholm Jr. stole second and advanced to third. When Caballero skyed a ball to right, Chisholm Jr. attempted to avoid Narváez’s tag as he slid into home. After a lengthy review, the call was upheld.
Entering the ninth, the Yankees three-run lead seemed like 30. A bunt single and Hamilton’s second error of the night put the first two New Yorkers on base. Chris Murphy forced Judge into a double play, and Hamilton fielded Paul Goldschmidt’s grounder cleanly to give Boston a fighting last chance.
With the moon hanging low over the video boards in center field, the Red Sox went quietly into the night.
That elusive 82nd win will have to wait.
Originally Published:
