DJ, TORRES BASH SOX!
LeMahieu and Gleyber each hit 2 HRs in sweep, but Yanks lose two more to injury
The Yankees (71-39) won their fourth straight game, swept a day-night doubleheader against their longtime rival, maintained an eight-game lead on the Rays, buried the defending world champions 13.5 games in the AL East standings, are on pace for 104 wins, and watched their youngest (and perhaps best) star continue to shine.
But despite Saturday night’s 6-4 victory, the day was still very much YankeesRed Sox. It wasn’t easy. It can never be easy.
The on-field success was marred by the mounting injuries, first Edwin Encarnacion’s fractured wrist, and now, Aaron Hicks’ elbow, which will undergo an MRI on Sunday. The Yankees center fielder felt pain in his throwing after making a powerful throw to third base. Brett Gardner pinch-hit for Hicks and took his spot in center.
“I’ve never had elbow problems, so I don’t really know where to start,” said Hicks. “Anything with the elbow always makes you nervous, but I’m going to stay positive right now.”
So, let’s stay positive, or at least try. Gleyber Torres crushed two home runs and scored the go-ahead run on Mike Tauchman’s seventh inning, basesloaded single. Boone told reporters Gleyber “came up in big spots and got some pitches he could do some damage with.”
Torres, who had his fifth multi-home run game of the year, is just the second player in Yankee history to record five multi-HR games in one season before his 23rd birthday. (The first was Joe DiMaggio, you may have heard good things.)
Torres was backed up by Cameron Maybin and Tauchman, two fourth outfielders shining in larger roles all season. Maybin had a big RBI double that gave the Yankees their first lead of the night in the third. Tauchman’s bases-loaded single poked right past Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, putting the Yankees ahead for good and handed Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes the loss.
Noticing the “adrenaline of the moment,” Tauchman, who has come up big in clutch moments all season, said he was
primarily focused on “controlling my heart rate.”
“I wanted to make sure that if I got a breaking ball out over the plate that I would hit it,” said Tauchman of his approach. “Try not to do too much, make solid contact.”
DJ HOLDS FIRE SALE
The Yankees clobbered struggling Red Sox lefty Chris Sale for seven runs in the fourth inning Saturday en route to a 9-2 win in the opener of a split doubleheader.
What a difference a week and a little home cooking can make.
It was just last Saturday that Red Sox pounded atrocious Yankee pitching for a third straight day and a 9-5 win. The only positive that day was the Bombers held the Sox to under 10 runs after giving up 19 and 10 in the first two games of the series.
Sale gave up eight earned runs on nine hits — including two home runs to DJ LeMahieu — as part of another miserable afternoon and then got tossed by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook as his frustration boiled over. He exited the mound with two outs in the frame.
Sale (5-11) is now 0-4 with a 9.90 ERA against the Bombers this season. He was furious after the game, telling reporters that “You give these guys extra outs and it’s going to hurt. I felt like he changed the landscape of the game. There’s got to be something that can be done about this.”
LeMahieu — the front-runner for Yankee MVP in his first season in New York — hammered home the final nail in Sale’s coffin with a three-run Yankee Stadium homer (351 feet to right) that pushed the lead to 7-1. He got the Bombers off to a quick start with a lead-off blast to right center in the first.
“I like hitting homers,” LeMahieu said after the game. He now has a career-best 17 on the season. “I like that right-field wall, for sure.”
The Yankees also got exactly what they needed from Domingo German, a day before his 27th birthday. The Dominican righty — the lone Yankee pitcher to escape Fenway with a win last weekend — pitched seven innings for the first time since mid-May. It was also the first time a Yankee starter lasted seven inning since CC Sabathia on July 6.
German (14-2, 3.98 ERA) earned the win after striking out seven over seven innings and 97 pitches. He did not walk a batter, but did give up two solo homers as part of the five hits he allowed.