At this point, if Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill hits a home run, there’s a good chance he’ll hit another later in the game.
That was the case again for O’Neill in Saturday’s 11-8 loss in 10 innings to the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
O’Neill certainly did his part to try to lift the Red Sox to a win as his power surge continued. He crushed not one, but two go-ahead homers in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, only to see Boston’s bullpen cough up a late lead yet again.
O’Neill’s been incredibly locked-in since the All-Star break, so much so that he’s doing things at the plate that have never been done before in Red Sox history. Saturday’s performance marked his third multi-homer game in six contests, becoming the first player in franchise history to record that feat, according to Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long. The 29-year-old also is up to five multi-homer games this season, which leads all of MLB.
The pair of long balls gave O’Neill 22 home runs on the season and 100 now for his career. He’s also batting .275 on the campaign and with 43 RBIs from the middle of the lineup.
O’Neill felt like he could recapture his 2021 form this season when he finished eighth in National League MVP voting while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Turns out, he really isn’t far off from that season and the Red Sox trading for him looks better and better with each ball he hits over the Green Monster.
Here are more notes from Saturday’s Red Sox-Yankees game:
— Boston’s bullpen is in a really rough place at the moment. The Red Sox have blown a lead in the seventh inning or later in seven out of eight games since the All-Star break. Boston was one out away from a win, but closer Kenley Jansen allowed a double to Trent Grisham in the top of the ninth, which plated the game-tying run.
“We got the baton to the ninth inning, right, and we didn’t finish it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, per the Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr.
— The Red Sox and Yankees combined to use 15 pitchers in the game with Boston accounting for eight of those hurlers. The pitchers from both sides combined to throw a total of 363 pitches.
— Kutter Crawford shut down the Yankees the last time he took the mound against New York. That wasn’t the case this time around. Crawford only lasted 4 2/3 innings as he allowed five runs on eight hits — three of which were home runs — with five strikeouts.
“It’s what’s gonna keep me up at night. Not being able to give my team a full five, and even six,” Crawford told reporters, per Starr. “Physically I felt pretty good, but obviously execution, mechanically wasn’t all there.”
— Offense hasn’t been an issue as of late for the Red Sox. They have now scored five-plus runs in seven straight games, which is the longest streak since Boston and the San Francisco Giants both did that in 2021.
— Standings watch: A win could have helped the Red Sox gain some serious ground in the standings with the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals both losing. But Boston still remains a game behind the Royals for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.
— The Red Sox and Yankees play the rubber match of their series Sunday night at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN. The Red Sox return to NESN airwaves Monday night when they open up a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.
