Boston Red Sox
The Yankees erupted for nine-plus runs in back-to-back games, while the Red Sox mustered just nine total in the series.
The Red Sox entered this weekend’s four-game series at Yankee Stadium with a chance to make a major statement and perhaps even leapfrog their rival in the wild-card standings.
Instead, Boston dropped three of four, as the Yankees outscored the Red Sox, 26-9 (yes, some came against Andruw Monasterio; no, those shouldn’t count), in a decisive performance. What happened this weekend won’t have any effect on what happens in October when these teams likely meet again. It does, however, show that the Yankees should be slightly favored until further notice – especially after securing the tiebreaker if they finish with the same regular-season record.
Outside of Saturday afternoon’s 6-0 victory, the Red Sox’ bats were awfully quiet all series. Give the Yankees credit. The rotation is elite, and they earned it. At the same time, the Red Sox aren’t going to win a lot of playoff games if they average 2.25 runs.
Here are five takeaways from the series, which ended with a 16-1 setback Sunday afternoon.
Tough matchup
While the Red Sox are certainly capable of taking two of three from New York in October, the reality is that they match up poorly with the Yankees. Both teams have strong rotations and bullpens, but the Yankees’ starters appear to have a slight edge at the moment.
The Red Sox are 62-15 when scoring four or more runs and 12-48 when scoring three runs or fewer. That trend has held true against New York. Boston is 6-0 when scoring four or more runs and 0-7 when scoring three or fewer. Sometimes, it is that simple.
It feels like the Red Sox would have a great shot against any other American League team in the playoffs. At the moment, it feels like they wouldn’t have a great shot against the Yankees.
Making their return
Roman Anthony and Trevor Story both returned to the lineup Sunday, with Anthony batting first as the designated hitter and Story hitting eighth as the shortstop.
Anthony finished 2 for 4, including a double with an exit velocity of 101.6 to open the game. He looked like himself and kept the momentum he had in the minors rolling.
Story reached on an infield single and doubled to right to go 2 for 3 with a run in a strong performance. At shortstop, he misplayed a hard-hit ball that ricocheted off his glove and was called a single. He appeared to be in slight discomfort and flexed his right hand multiple times, but remained in the game.
Story deserves an opportunity to audition and prove he belongs on the playoff roster. Once there is enough of a sample size to weigh their options, the Red Sox will do exactly that.
What’s the catch?
With a runner on first base and no outs in a scoreless game in the fourth inning Sunday, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a fly ball to shallow right-center. Ceddanne Rafaela laid out and appeared to make another dramatic highlight-reel catch that yielded a double play.
But, the first-base umpire called it a hit, implying that Rafaela didn’t control the ball cleanly and it hit the ground. The Red Sox challenged, as Rafaela spoke with a trainer after tweaking his neck, and that challenge was unsuccessful. Paul Goldschmidt drove in two with a soft single up the middle, then Heliot Ramos blasted a three-run homer to left to bust the game open.
It’s easy to watch the replay from the couch and determine it was the wrong call, but it truly did seem like the wrong call. Rafaela took umbrage with the verdict, and in the ensuing inning, he made a point to touch first base after flying out to right.
The Yankees likely still would have won, but the call shifted the trajectory of the game and series dramatically.
Drive you batty
The Red Sox scored just nine runs in the series, but it wasn’t as though they didn’t have chances. They outhit New York, 5-3, and walked six times in the first game and left 10 on base.
They were a very respectable 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position in the second game, yet still left seven on base in a win. Game No. 3 was more of the same, with seven left on base and a .125 average with runners in scoring position. On Sunday, they had seven hits and scored just one run.
Over its seven-game road trip (3-4), Boston hit .164 (9 for 55) with runners in scoring position and left 54 runners on base, after batting .302 (19 for 63) with runners in scoring position in its previous six-game homestand.
Unraveling late
The Red Sox entered Sunday with the best bullpen ERA in the Majors (2.94), but the bullpen allowed nine earned runs in 6 ⅔ innings Saturday night and four from regular relievers Sunday.
With the outcome decided long ago, Monasterio entered and allowed five earned runs. He did record two outs, but the Yankees took him deep twice after they did the same to Jovani Morán.
Another subplot to follow: Chisholm stole multiple bases with the game out of reach to hit 40 for the season. It wouldn’t be stunning to see the Red Sox retaliate in some form come October.
The Yankees took this round with conviction, but the Red Sox will likely get another shot when the postseason rolls around.
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