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New York Yankees Begin Second Half With Loss To Red Sox (Highlights)

By
Emmanuel Berbari
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The New York Yankees fell to their rivals in the first of three from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

  • Boston Red Sox: 5 (50-38)
  • New York Yankees: 3 (44-45)
  • American League, FINAL, Box Score
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

It has been well-established by now. The New York Yankees are in the midst of a stretch that will define their 2016 campaign. Unfortunately, their status as contenders took a detrimental hit right off the bat.

The first game of the second half displayed a “too little, too late” scenario for the Bombers as they were unable to turn some late life into an ultimate surmounted deficit.

Their position in the AL East was also harmed as the Red Sox in the first game of their 10-game home stand.

Michael Pineda struggled on the mound for New York, surrendering five hits, five runs, and three long balls over five subpar frames. The home run bug continues to hurt the 27-year-old as he has now allowed 18 on the season.

On the contrary, knuckleballer Steven Wright was stellar for Boston with only one hitch. He surrendered only three hits and three earned runs — all in the sixth inning — over six strong innings, improving his record to 11-5 in the win.

Newly acquired Brad Ziegler combined with Robbie Ross Jr. bridged the gap to Koji Uehara, who slammed the door on the team’s 50th win this year.

Highlights

Ryan Hanigan got the scoring started with a solo shot into the left-center field bullpen in the third.

Two innings later, Travis Shaw crushed a two-run blast into the bleachers to extend the lead to three and send the Red Sox well on their way.

However, Boston did not stop there. Xander Bogaerts added some icing to the cake when he launched a two-run moonshot in the top half of the sixth.

The Bombers displayed life in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases against Wright. Carlos Beltran promptly came through with a two-run single into the corner and Brian McCann plated a run with a groundout.

With that said, the offense was not able to put together any further threat against John Farrell’s bullpen.

Dangerous Territory

With the loss, the Yankees did not start a crucial home stand on the right foot. By crossing one game off the 10-game slate, they will have to go 6-3 in their final nine games in order to finish the stretch with a winning record.

Keep in mind, those nine games will feature two more with the Red Sox, four against the first-place Orioles, and three with the the San Francisco Giants who currently possess the best record in baseball.

A 5-4 record in those games would keep them at .500 and provide a clear indication of where a mediocre team is headed. A losing record and, well, you can fill in the dots there.

The Yanks need to right the ship, and right the ship fast, if they want to maintain any form of relevancy. Otherwise, selling will present itself as the only clear option.

What’s Next?

The Yankees and Red Sox will battle it out in the middle game of this three-game set.

Two struggling left-handers in CC Sabathia (5-6, 3.77 ERA) and Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 8.59 ERA) will be on the mound for their respective teams.

First pitch will commence at 4:05 pm ET from the Bronx. The game can be seen on YES and FS1, and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM. Stay tuned to ESNY for an in-depth pregame with all that you need to know ahead of the matchup.

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