For the second consecutive night, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees competed at a level resembling a must-win postseason matchup in October, and we haven’t even reached the MLB trade deadline yet.
“It was incredible. When you come to Fenway Park this is the atmosphere you look for,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said after New York’s 11-8 win in 10 innings over Boston, per FOX Sports. “Fans were in it from the beginning. It was a back-and-forth match. We go up there and score three (runs) in the first, they answered us right back and it was on from there. You love being in these games. You love being in these moments.”
Judge reached base six times in as many at-bats, going 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and a team-leading three RBIs. Yet, even that tremendous performance from New York’s six-time All-Star couldn’t prevent the Yankees from being dragged into a nail-biting slugfest against the division rival Red Sox in enemy territory. The lead changed frequently and dramatically, even reaching the point where Boston closer Kenley Jansen had New York down to its final strike in the ninth inning, but coughed up a game-tying double to Trent Grisham — giving the Yankees new life and just enough momentum to stiff arm the Red Sox from rebutting in the bottom of the ninth and 10th.
“A wins a win. A loss is a loss. That’s what it comes down to,” Judge said, per FOX Sports. “(Friday) we fought hard in a back-and-forth game and we ended up losing, and today we didn’t falter. We came out here ready to go. It was a back-and-forth game. We could’ve been down ourselves after giving up the lead, but this team fights. That’s what you gotta keep doing. This is baseball, you’re gonna have rough patches. You just gotta keep fighting.”
Boston had a night at the plate as the lineup produced three home runs — two coming from Tyler O’Neill — four doubles and 13 total base hits. However, a handful of miscues, including Ceddanne Rafaela being caught sleeping and tagged out at third base and O’Neill’s misplay in left field, left an aching price for the Red Sox to pay. Less than 48 hours after the front office struck two deals heading into the deadline, Boston’s bullpen issues continue to anchor the team down in a (very) feasible American League East race.
The Red Sox dropped to 4 1/2 games back of the second-place Yankees and remain a game behind the Royals for the final wild-card spot. Meanwhile, New York gained some ground, now sitting just a game behind the division-leading Orioles with the series finale left to be played at Fenway Park on Sunday night.
