Sox salvage series finale
Bullpen locks down win after Dalbec home run breaks tie
The Red Sox entered their season-opening series against the Yankees facing questions about their bullpen, but they should leave New York feeling encouraged.
Without a set closer to begin the season, the Red Sox led the Yankees by a run heading into the bottom of the ninth of their series finale at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo awaited whoever Alex Cora trusted enough to put on the mound.
His decision? Newcomer Jake Diekman.
It worked. Diekman struck out the side – fanning the Yankees’ power-hitting trio all swinging – as the Red Sox edged their rivals with a 4-3 victory on Sunday night to avoid a season-opening sweep. Bobby Dalbec’s goahead solo homer in the sixth inning was ultimately the difference.
Diekman entered Sunday with 14 career saves in his 11 big-league seasons – seven of them coming last season with Oakland. But with Matt Barnes hurt, Garrett Whitlock unavailable and Hansel Robles already throwing a shutout eighth, Cora turned to him for the Red Sox’ biggest moment of the young season.
The left-hander faced a full count with Judge, but kept pumping 95 mph fastballs at him and eventually beat him in the 11-pitch atbat, getting the Yankees slugger missing high on a fastball. He sent down Stanton, who whiffed on three consecutive pitches, and by the time he got to the strikeout-happy Gallo, his fate was almost pre-determined. He, too, struck out swinging, this time on a slider to end the game, sending the Red Sox to Detroit feeling good about themselves.
Diekman’s save capped a confidence-boosting performance for the Red Sox bullpen, which threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Kutter Crawford looks like an arm that Cora is starting to trust more, especially after throwing two scoreless innings and striking out three.
For all the concerns about the Sox’ bullpen, they weren’t really a problem in New York. In the three games combined, their relievers pitched 13 innings, struck out 15 batters and allowed just one earned run on nine hits.
Some other takeaways from Sunday night’s victory:
Hit and miss for Houck
Tanner Houck finally earned a spot in the starting rotation to begin this season, and the exciting right-hander showed some flashes of why in his first outing of the season on Sunday night.
His fastball and slider had great movement. He was getting outs when he needed them. And he even struck out Josh Donaldson looking, the first time the Yankees newcomer had done so in his career.
But there’s clearly plenty of work to do for Houck, who’s far from a finished product. The command issues he exhibited in spring training carried over to Sunday, when he issued three walks and added a wild pitch and hit batter in 3 1/3 innings. He threw 78 pitches, 31 of them coming in the first inning, which set him back and forced Alex Cora to go to his bullpen early.
Still, he did a good job escaping trouble. He loaded the bases thanks to two walks in the first, but got Gleyber Torres to fly out. He put a man in scoring position with his wild pitch in the second, but struck out Donaldson.
And despite a messy third, when he walked Anthony Rizzo on four pitches and hit Torres with a pitch, he avoided serious damage by inducing Aaron Hicks into an inning-ending double play, preserving the Red Sox’ 2-1 lead at the time.
Arroyo looks good in RF debut
With the Red Sox facing a left-handed starter, Cora benched Jackie Bradley Jr. and started Christian Arroyo for his first career major league game in right field. He looked like he could stay out there.
Arroyo’s first big test came in a key moment in the third inning, when Aaron Judge hit a sinking fly ball down the right field line.
Arroyo slid and nearly made the catch, but it bounced in fair territory to put runners on first and second with no out – and the Yankees scored their first run a batter later when Giancarlo Stanton singled. But it was still a great effort by Arroyo on a tough play.
Arroyo otherwise seemed comfortable. And in the seventh, he made up for not catching that third-inning hit when he made a sliding catch to his right on a line drive to rob Torres of a hit.