Rookie Gary Sanchez has a two-run double and a run scored in the series and is 8-for-23 with three extra-base hits in his brief career versus the Red Sox.
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Hanley Ramirez homered for the second straight game, and David Ortiz had a pair of hits on Friday night to send the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees.
When the Yankees first arrived at Fenway, they were four games behind the Red Sox with four to play against the AL East leader, and anything seemed possible.
METS 3, TWINS 0: Bartolo Colon limited the Twins to three singles in seven innings, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive home runs off rookie Jose Berrios in the third, and NY beat Minnesota in the opener of the Mets’ final homestand this season.
Earlier in the game, Ortiz had kicked off the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the first, helping the Red Sox jump out to an early 2-0 lead in their first turn at the plate.
Betts’ high-chop grounder bounced over drawn-in shortstop Didi Gregorius to score Bogaerts, and Betts scored when Adam Warren (3-2) bounced a wild pitch that caromed to the right of Sanchez. The catcher scampered back in time for the tag.
“I’d like to be able to just walk in and flip a switch on or off and it be that easy”, Gardner said. “He’s been our best hitter, so you’ve got to be somewhat creative”. “Ideally, you want to get it in the air, but I just got on top of it”.
Not after four consecutive losses, not after losing six of seven and not after seeing Starlin Castro and Jacoby Ellsbury leave Saturday’s game with injuries severe enough to send them back to NY for more tests.
Now they’re seven games back of first and four games back for a wild card with a little more than two weeks left.
Ellsbury left the game in the eighth and the Yankees also lost Starlin Castro to a hamstring injury. Rookie Gary Sanchez hit his 15th home run since his August 3 recall from the minors.
NY opened a 5-2 lead on Austin Romine’s two-run double off the Green Monster in the fourth. In the second, Tommy Joseph launched a two-run homer just a few feet away from the 409-foot sign in center field.
ORIOLES 5, RAYS 4: J.J. Hardy and Michael Bourn came through with RBIs in the eighth inning, and Baltimore rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Tampa Bay.
Matt Barnes (4-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief of David Price, and Craig Kimbrel struck out the final four batters for his 27th save in 29 chances.
“He kind of got through the first inning with good defense”, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
NY took a 3-0 in the third on Brett Gardner’s RBI triple and Sanchez’s homer, which cleared the Monster seats above the left-field wall.
“He’s played 22 games there this year”, Girardi said, neglecting to mention that eight of those “games” came after late-inning pinch-hitting appearances for the Oakland Athletics, who gave him his last start there on July 5.
“He hurt his right patellar when he slid into the wall”, Girardi said of Ellsbury. The Red Sox will try to put another nail in the Yankees’ coffin and wrap up a four-game sweep when they host the series finale on Sunday night.
Mitchell struggled in his second start since breaking a toe in spring training, allowing six runs (two earned) on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings in an 8-2 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. The 31-year-old hasn’t been as dominant in three starts against the Yankees this season, posting a 1-2 mark with a gaudy 7.79 ERA.
ATLANTA – Trea Turner hit two home runs for Washington, but Atlanta’s leadoff hitter had a highly productive day as well. “It was a very big win for us”.
TV: 8:08 p.m. ET, ESPN PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH CC Sabathia (8-12, 4.10 ERA) vs.
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Buchholz bounced back from his shortest start of the season with six solid innings and his second consecutive win.
