The New York Yankees get a boost from Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird to end August with a victory over their fiercest rivals.

  • Boston Red Sox: 2 (76-58)
  • New York Yankees: 6 (71-62)
  • Final, American League, Box Score
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

A poor series against the Cleveland Indians? Unfortunate for the New York Yankees. But against the Boston Red Sox, they’re proving they won’t go down without a fight.

This time, the fight came courtesy of what the Yankees do best: hitting home runs and throwing out runners at second.

Thanks to an opposite field shot from Gary Sanchez and a two-run blast by Greg Bird, the Yankees showed signs of life against the Boston Red Sox, backing up a strong outing by CC Sabathia.

But how did we get there? Let’s take a look.

Sabathia took the mound for the Yankees and got off to a rough start, making fans immediately think, “here we go again.” Well, Sabathia worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam by striking out Xander Bogaerts and newly minted Yankee-killer Rafael Devers.

Eduardo Rodriguez earned the starting spot for the Red Sox tonight, much to the dismay of Yankees fans. In his last outing against the Bombers, he went six innings and only allowed two hits.

However, Sanchez got to him early. Already down 1-0 on an overturned call at first base, Sanchez tied the game once again with a short porch home run, his 28th of the season.

All knotted at 1, the Sabathia settled in and retired the Sox 1-2-3 in the fourth. After giving up a single to Andrew Benintendi in the fifth, Sabathia and Sanchez combined for an impressive strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play.

And here come the Yankees. After stranding runners in scoring position all game, the Yankees finally came through in the clutch. After a Brett Gardner single and an Aaron Hicks “single,” Sanchez blooped a single into shallow right, driving home the go-ahead run.

One run is never enough with the Red Sox, so Greg Bird took matters into his own hands in the sixth. Bird launched a two-run shot into the right field bleachers to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

Since coming back from the DL, Bird has driven in eight runs in only six games. Guess the Yankees are ecstatic to have this sweet swinging lefty back in the lineup.

Following up Bird, Didi Gregorius also added an RBI single to bring the Yankees to a four-run lead over their rivals.

With a lead, Sabathia’s night was over. He finished the evening with six strong innings of work, allowing just one run and four hits and striking out six. This performance further proves how important that role of a stopper is for this team.

The Yankees tacked on one more in the seventh on another Bird hit, leaving the game in the hands of the big guns in the bullpen.

David Robertson got a turn, coasting through two innings without allowing a hit to the first place American League East squad.

And enter Dellin Betances to close out the game for the Yankees…or at least attempt to. After loading the bases with no outs, Betances managed to get the final three outs while only allowing one run.

The last inning wasn’t great but it got the job done. The Yankees take Game One by a score of 6-2.

What’s Next:

Get ready for Round Two on a Friday night! The heavyweights face off in the Bronx in Game Two of a four-game set.

Sonny Gray will take the mound for the Yankees, sitting 8-8 on the season with a 3.26 ERA. Gray will face off against Doug Fister, who is 3-7 with a 4.53 ERA this year.

Regardless of the records, any time you face off against the Red Sox, you are bound to face a pretty hefty challenge.

The game is slated for a 7:05 PM start time and can be seen on the YES Network. If you can’t scrounge up TV time, it can be heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM and WADO 1280.