The beginning of the hotly-anticipated series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox starts with monster home runs and an impressive performance by their veteran starter.
- Boston Red Sox (55-28): 1
- New York Yankees (53-2): 8
- FINAL, American League, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Let’s talk about the sexiest part of the game of baseball tonight: the home runs. The New York Yankees took their nickname very seriously as they crushed bomb after bomb en route to a victory over their fiercest rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
With home runs from rookie Miguel Andujar, struggling returner Greg Bird and the consistent Aaron Judge, the Yankees were able to back up a strong performance from lefty CC Sabathia on the mound to earn the victory. While many were expecting the Sox to be the ones to break out with numerous home runs, the Yankees stopped their one-game losing skid and crushed the baseball at every turn.
Let’s see how it all went down.
Gleyber Day!
The Boston Red Sox haven’t really gotten a taste of Gleyber Torres and his impressive play…that is, until tonight. Torres crushed a triple to lead off the bottom of the second inning and was driven in promptly by fellow rookie Miguel Andujar.
The Red Sox have heard about these rookies but have yet to truly see what they are made of. After all, they are two of the best rookies in the league and top contenders for the Rookie of the Year award with Shohei Ohtani out with an injury.
Watch out, Sox. These guys will come back to bite you come September.
Bring on the Bombs!
THAT ONE IS GONE!
Miguel Andujar with a 2-run BOMB over the left field wall!#YANKSonYES LIVE stream:https://t.co/qOT4QyOHCm pic.twitter.com/oFU1uGVL6V
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 30, 2018
The bottom of the fourth inning is when the game was broken open for the Bombers. While Torres drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, the next few baseballs left the park completely.
A single wasn’t enough for Andujar, who launched a two-run shot to left to put the Yankees up 4-0 on the dominant Red Sox. But that wasn’t enough for anyone, as Greg Bird stepped up to the plate and showed exactly why he’s still donning the pinstripes.
Bird’s home run was unique, as he drove it just over the wall in left for his fourth on the season. Regardless of where it is, we’ll take it! Bird’s solo shot gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead against the Sox and their dominating fifth starter Eduardo Rodriguez.
Bird would later go on to add another solo shot in the bottom of the eighth for this fifth of the year. And with that solo shot, Bird crushed all hopes and dreams of Brandon Drury making a comeback from injury.
CC Him Pitch
CC Sabathia put together a solid outing for the Yankees, again serving as a stopper following a Yankees loss. Sabathia went seven strong while allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts. He did exactly what the Yankees needed to take Game One from this powerful Boston squad.
Even better is the fact that Sabathia has now taken work into the seventh inning in four of his last six starts, which is an excellent sign moving forward for the Yankees.
What's Next?
The Yankees get to rest for another night game tomorrow evening as they take on the Red Sox for Game 2 of the three-game set.
This time, the Yankees face a bit of a tougher lefty in Chris Sale. Sale is 7-4 on the season and will be coming off a dominating performance against the Seattle Mariners, where he pitched seven innings of scoreless ball.
The Yankees will counter with Sonny Gray, one of the starters who has undoubtedly struggled this season. Gray is 5-5 on the season with a 4.93 ERA.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET tomorrow in the Bronx and can be seen on FOX while being heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM and WADO 1280.
