It was a dramatic weekend in the Bronx as old rivals New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox completed a four-game set. The hosts recorded three wins to increase their lead at the top of the AL East division to three games over the Baltimore Orioles.
In contrast, the Red Sox have fallen further behind in the race for the wildcard. At 75-75, they are 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins with 12 games to play.
Game 1 – Yankees 2-1 Red Sox
After enjoying a walk-off win courtesy of Jazz Chisholm Jr the night before against the Kansas City Royals, the Yankees made it two in a row against the Red Sox. This time it was Juan Soto, who recorded his first-ever walk-off hit in Pinstripes, and one fans will be hoping is the first of many.
It was a pitchers’ duel, with very little offense throughout. Nestor Cortes took the mound for the Yankees for the first time since he was moved to the bullpen for one game. For the Red Sox, it was right-hander Cooper Criswell.
Perhaps with a point to prove, Cortes pitched a clean 1-2-3 inning to bring up the Yankees offense for the first time. Gleyber Torres, who has excelled since being moved to the leadoff position, got things going with a home run on a 3-2 count. He took advantage of the short porch in right field of Yankee Stadium to put his side ahead. The Yankees had hoped this would be a sign of things to come, but this was as good as it got in nine innings.
A Chisholm Jr walk and Anthony Rizzo hit by pitch loaded the bases for the Yankees after Giancarlo Stanton singled with one out. Shortstop Anthony Volpe was unable to take advantage, however, flying out to left field to end the inning with no further score. The 23-year old would end up leaving the bases loaded twice in this game.
They would rue not taking this opportunity to take advantage as Danny Jansen led off the fifth with his ninth home run of the season to tie the game. This is how the score remained until extra innings. Having ended the ninth inning, reliever Tommy Kahnle remained in the game to retire Wilyer Abreu with a man on second base.
Clay Holmes, who had recently lost his closer role due to several blown saves, was tasked with getting the final two outs. He executed perfectly, forcing Ceddanne Rafaela into a groundout and Jarren Duran into a flyout to give the Yankees a chance to walk it off for the second time in as many nights.
With Soto and Aaron Judge due up, the Red Sox were in a tricky spot. The speedy Jon Berti pinch ran for Torres at second base, and the Yankees right fielder Soto wasted no time in ending the game. On a 2-2 count he drove a single past the shortstop to allow Berti to round third and come home.
Game 2 – Yankees 5-4 Red Sox
If the first game had not provided enough dramatics, the second game of the series sure delivered. Whilst Soto was the headliner the previous night, this game was all about Judge. The center fielder had hit 51 home runs before this game but had gone on a career-high 16-game homerless streak. However, he broke out of his slump incredibly with a go-ahead grand slam, sparking bedlam in Yankee Stadium.
Taking the ball for the Yankees was the recently returned Clarke Schmidt, coming up against rookie starter Richard Fitts. All-star Tanner Houck was supposed to be on the mound, but he was a very late scratch with shoulder fatigue. That meant Fitts, who was drafted by the Yankees and traded to the Red Sox for Alex Verdugo, was given the tough task of navigating the star-studded opposition lineup.
However, in his second-ever big league start, Fitts did a tremendous job keeping the Yankees’ bats quiet. He got into trouble in the first inning, walking the bases loaded, but was able to get out of the jam. His counterpart Schmidt allowed a leadoff single to Duran, though he was subsequently caught stealing second.
The pair would pitch five scoreless innings apiece before Schmidt gave up a two-run homer to Masataka Yoshida at the top of the sixth. Schmidt had pitched an excellent game beforehand but was punished for his first mistake. This signalled the end of his evening, as he was replaced by Mark Leiter Jr.
After another scoreless inning for the Yankees, Leiter Jr was back out for the seventh. The former Chicago Cubs man has struggled since arriving in New York at the trade deadline, and his troubles continued with another two-run homer. This time it was Trevor Story who got in on the action, recording his first home run of the season.
Having pitched five innings, Fitts’ night was over and the game was turned over to the Red Sox bullpen. Since the all-star break, Boston’s bullpen has the worst ERA in MLB with 6.14. The next worst is the Twins with 5.18. At the bottom of the seventh, their issues were evident as they gave up five runs to fall behind. Zack Kelly had come in looking to maintain his side’s lead, but issued walks to the eight and nine hitters Volpe and Verdugo to flip the lineup over.
Torres singled to get the Yankees on the board which set the stage for Soto with nobody out. This brought in left-hander Cam Booser from the pen. In typical Soto fashion, he drew a walk to load the bases for Judge. Not looking himself in recent weeks, Judge broke out monstrously, crushing a 2-0 fastball into the left field seats. A playoff atmosphere had developed, giving everyone a taste of what is to come in October.
Luke Weaver, who has emerged as manager Aaron Boone’s preferred new closer, was given the job of delivering a six-out save. He did so excellently, recording five strikeouts in the process. This win, coupled with an Orioles’ loss gave the Yankees a three-game lead at the top of the division, their largest since the middle of June.