Yankees say East is still in reach
BOSTON — Demoted closer Aroldis Chapman entered with two outs in the sixth inning on Sunday and produced his first scoreless appearance since Aug. 5 in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Chapman, who got four outs, had allowed seven runs over his last four appearances. It was his first time pitching in the sixth since 2011.
“He came in and did his job,” Joe Girardi said of Chapman, who was removed from the closer’s role on Saturday.
The 29-year-old flamethrower had produced a 9.95 ERA in his previous seven appearances against Boston this season.
Chapman reported feeling good after the outing, which nearly turned into a disaster.
After striking out Brock Holt to end the sixth, Chapman walked Mookie Betts leading off the seventh. Betts then advanced to second on what was scored a wild pitch but should’ve gone as a passed ball against Gary Sanchez.
Andrew Benintendi followed by flying out to Aaron Judge, but Betts deked him and was able to move to third. Still, Chapman ultimately got Hanley Ramirez to fly to center and struck out nemesis Rafael Devers to end the frame. Devers had previously gotten to Chapman for a homer and a single. USA TODAY SPORTS
The Yankees are currently going closer by committee with Dellin Betances and David Robertson.
Chapman is in the first year of a fiveyear, $86 million deal.
Tommy Kahnle had a rough series against Boston, failing to record an out while allowing two runs on Sunday. He also allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning on Friday.
“He’s had a really good year, and we’ve got to get him back on track, too,” Girardi said.
OF NOTE
Aaron Judge had his left shoulder iced after the game. “It’s not affecting me at all,” Judge said. … Greg Bird (ankle) got the day off after producing back-to-back two hit games with Triple-A Scranton. The
BOSTON — The Yankees are five games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, but they still believe they can come back to win the division.
“I think so for sure,” Brett Gardner said after the Bombers lost 5-1 to Boston on Sunday at Fenway Park. “I mean, you can make up five games in two weeks. It’s one of those things where you don’t want to be five games back or even two games back. But we’ve still got six weeks left, which is plenty of time to catch them. We don’t need to worry about what they’re doing or who they’re playing. We need to worry about ourselves, and we have to play better baseball.”
The Yankees have now lost two out of three to the Red Sox in back-to-back series. New York (66-57) leads Boston (71-52) in the season series overall, 8-7.
The Bombers wish they could have last Sunday’s 3-2, 10-inning loss back, in which Aroldis Chapman surrendered a game-tying homer to Rafael Devers in the ninth. They also wish they could have Friday’s game back, in which they led 6-3 in the seventh only to see their bullpen implode in a 9-6 defeat.
“It’s not what you want,” Joe Girardi said. “Obviously, we need to continue to play well so when they come to our place, it means something. We 24-year-old is accompanying the minorleague team on its road trip to Rochester to continue his rehab assignment. There is no word on when he’ll return. Starlin Castro (hamstring) is also traveling as well. Castro went 1-for-4 on Sunday. … Matt Holliday (back) went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts with Class-A Tampa. Holliday has yet to record a hit in his minor-league rehab stint. … With Masahiro Tanaka (shoulder) starting Tuesday in Detroit, Bryan Mitchell was optioned to Triple-A Scranton. … Clint Frazier (oblique) still hasn’t been cleared yet to swing. … An MLB.com report said Yankees VP of player development Gary Denbo could be a candidate for the GM job in Miami under new owner Derek Jeter. Jeter and Denbo have a close relationship. Denbo was key in Jeter’s development as a player in the minors. probably had a chance to win four of the six and we won two of the six, so that’s frustrating. But I still think we’re playing pretty decent baseball and we need that to continue.”
The Yankees and Red Sox will play their final four games against one another from Aug. 31Sept. 3 at Yankee Stadium. Boston plays its next four in Cleveland, while New York plays its next three in Detroit following an off-day Monday. Perhaps it’s a chance to make up some ground.
Still, the Red Sox put a dent in the Yankees over the weekend, getting to relievers Chapman, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green and Adam Warren for a combined 10 runs while stifling Aaron Judge (1-for-12, five strikeouts).
Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks each also went 1-for-12 in the series.
Boston’s lineup has been significantly bolstered by Devers, the 20-year-old rookie third baseman, and ex-Yankee Eduardo Nunez. As a team, the Red Sox struck out only three times on Sunday while all five of their runs were driven in by No. 8-9 hitters Sandy Leon (two) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (three).
“They have a deep lineup and they have a good lineup,” Girardi said. “There aren't a lot of strikeout guys in their lineup. There are a lot of contact guys that do have some power. Maybe not the kind of power they’ve had in the past, but they’re going to hit their home runs and they’re a contact team.”