Coming off a dominant three-game sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees struggled against the Boston Red Sox on Friday evening. Going into the game with a 19-32 record, Boston has been awful in every facet but gave the Bombers a run for their money.
Thanks to a last-second home run from Gary Sanchez in the ninth inning, the Yankees managed to push the game to extra-innings. Sanchez finished the game with three RBIs and two hits on the evening, further improving his momentum at the plate.
FINAL SCORE: 6-5
Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:
GOOD NEWS:
The Yankees were relatively quiet on offense Friday night, recording nine hits and four runs. After posting 43 runs in three games, their low scoring performance on Friday sent them back down to reality. It was only a matter of time before their insane offensive performances leveled out.
The major positives from the loss came in individual performances and the Yankee bullpen. Gary had a solid evening and Aaron Hicks managed to secure two hits over four at-bats. Luke Voit, who has been stellar this year offensively and currently leads the MLB in home runs, struck out three times. However, the bullpen lasted four innings, allowing four hits and zero runs (not including extra innings).
DJ LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a two-out double in the 11th inning to give the Bombers the lead.
BAD NEWS:
The Yankees had their full lineup against Boston, featuring Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, and Giancarlo Stanton, whom have missed time due to injury.
The three premium hitters combined for three hits and four strikeouts. Stanton smashed a double in the eighth inning, driving in Judge to bring the Yankees within one. Voit had the worst game out of all the Yankee sluggers, striking out three times. However, the primary bad news came in the form of starting pitching.
Jordan Montgomery lasted 4.2 innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs. Luckily, the Yankee bullpen has been well-rested due to a number of strong outings from their starters.
Montgomery has been strong this year, with his last victory coming against Baltimore on September 12. He lasted 5.2 innings and struck out nine batters. His rocky performance on Friday seemed to be an anomaly, especially against a lackluster Boston squad.
Relief arm Jonathan Loaisiga struggled in the 11th inning, but managed to get out of a bases-loaded situation with the score tied at 5 apiece. He proceeded to blank the Socks in the 12th inning to secure the win.