Saturday, August 19, 2017

'Mitchy Pinch-Hit' Helps Red Sox Rally Past Empire, 9-6

(AP Photo)
Talk about your roller-coaster wins! The Red Sox went up early 3-0 on bottom-of-the-order HRs by Rafael Devers (2-run shot) and Christian Vazquez (solo blast)—and then the bullpen came into play. Starter Drew Pomeranz left in the fourth inning (back spasms). Then, after Brandon Workman pitched decently, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly and Heath Hembree did a Three Stooges act—and whoosh, The Evil Ones led 6-3. Then Boston matched New York a 4-spot in the seventh—keyed by Mitch Moreland's clutch two-out, two-run single. Then, The Carmine Hose added two more in the eighth off benighted "closer"Aroldis Chapman in the eventual 9-6 win. Whew! Other key hits came from Andrew Benintendi (1-5 RBI) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (1-3, 2RBIs). A pivotal point in this game was the performance of new reliever Addison Reed—who came on in the 4-run Yankee seventh to shut the door with the bases still loaded and just one out. We think that pretty much summarizes everything in this wild 4 hour and 9 minute contest. Actually, that's a little below average for a Yankee-Red Sox tilt. The huge win moves Boston to five full games ahead of The Bronx Embalmers—with Chris Sale pitching tomorrow night.