The Red Sox and Yankees started up their second series of the season on Tuesday. Drew Pomeranz got the ball for Boston, as well as Luis Severino for New York. Luis Severino pitched for six strong innings, striking out 11 and giving up two earned runs. Drew Pomeranz, however, gave up only two earned runs as well. But here’s the catch- both runs came off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. One solo shot to left field and one to right. Besides Stanton, Pomeranz was able to work around the lineup, going six innings strong and striking out six.
Heath Hembree took over at the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and only one out. With Aaron Judge coming to the plate, Joe Kelly made an appearance. Amid the 45,000 + boos in Yankee Stadium, Joe Kelly got two outs to end the inning. But not before giving up a run on a base hit by Aaron Judge. Andrew Benintendi made a nice throw to nail someone at the plate to hold the damage to one run. With the score still 3-2 in the ninth, Chapman came in. After hitting Jackie Bradley with two outs, Chapman got Christian Vasquez to ground out to second to end the game.
It Was Just New York’s Night
Going into this game, I did not have a great feeling. I wasn’t too confident in Pomeranz on the mound. If I had known we lost the game beforehand, something around a 7-1 final would’ve been my guess. It ended up being only 3-2. Now I know losing is never fun, but when it’s all said and done, there wasn’t too much to complain about in this game. It was one of those games where the other team just got a couple more breaks than you. It was just their night. Pomeranz ended up doing a great job, much better than what I was expecting. Other than Stanton, he was able to get everybody else out, including Aaron Judge who he struck out three times. Luis Severino was great and shut our offense down.
There were also a couple of concerns in this game, mainly with Heath Hembree and Jackie Bradley Jr. As far as Hembree goes, Tyler Thornburg can’t be back soon enough. Hembree is just not somebody who you can ever trust late in a game, and he’s continued to prove that. It’s looking like he’ll be the odd man out once Thornburg is finally back.
Jackie Bradley Woes
Talking about Bradley, it’s time that the Red Sox might have to start doing something with him. Personally, I love the guy. His defense is fantastic and very valuable, no doubt. But there comes a point where you have to think about doing something with him. All year, he’s been an automatic out. He’s only ever hit over .250 once, and that was because a 29 game hit streak carried him there. It comes a time when you just have to make your lineup better, and unfortunately that happens with benching him. Maybe he’ll need to start working with the hitting coach extra, if he hasn’t already. But they are going to have to figure something out with JBJ.
Rick Porcello will get the ball on Wednesday night to try and even up the series. David Price was originally going to start tonight, but he was scratched and sent back to Boston to see a doctor as he has continued to feel numbness in his fingertips. Eduardo Rodriguez will now pitch on Thursday.
