There will be a deciding Game 3 between the Red Sox and the Yankees in the American League Wild Card round. New York pulled off a 4-3 win in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, thanks to an RBI single from catcher Austin Wells in the bottom of the eighth against Boston reliever Garrett Whitlock.
The Red Sox battled back to tie the game twice on two big swings by shortstop Trevor Story, who anthem a two-run single in the best of the third and a solo homer in the best of the sixth. Story went 2-for-4 in Game 2, and is 4-for-9 for the series.
But starter Brayan Bello went just 2.1 innings and Alex Cora had to call upon six relievers to finish out the game. After the Red Sox took advantage of the little things in Game 1 Tuesday night, they came up empty in a number of opportunities Wednesday.
Two out walks haunted Red Sox pitchers, as they led to two of New York’s four runs. The Yankees scored all four of their runs with two outs, including Ben Rice’s two-run homer off Bello in the bottom of the first. Jarren Duran also came up empty on a line drive he should have caught off the bat of Aaron Judge, which gave New York a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Boston’s offense got the leadoff man on in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning, but got just one run out of it on Story’s solo homer. The Red Sox stranded five runners and grounded into three double plays on the night.
The Red Sox will immediately have a tired bullpen for Thursday night’s Game 3, with rookie Connelly Early set to start for Boston. He’ll be opposed by Walpole native Cam Schlittler, with first pitch at 8:08 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.
Here’s how it all played out in the Bronx Wednesday night.
The Yankees strike first with first-inning homer by Ben Rice
After the Red Sox went down 1-2-3 in the best of the first, the Yankees jumped on best 2-0 when Cohasset native Ben Rice took Bello deep for a two-run shot to right. Bello got the first two batters of the game, but then Cody Bellinger singled to right-center ahead of Rice, who smacked the first pitch he saw 364 feet into the stands.
It was the start the Yankees needed after Rice spent all of Game 1 on the New York bench.
Red Sox answer with two in the third
The bottom of the Boston order got it done against Rodon in the best of the third. Duran led off with an opposite field single to left-center, and Ceddenne Rafaela followed with a walk. Nick Sogard put down a bunt to advance the runners, but he was safe when Rondon’s throw pulled Jazz Chisholm off first base.
Two batters later, Trevor Story tied the game with a two-run single to centerfield. But that was all Boston got, as Alex Bregman grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
Brayan Bello gets early hook, but it works for Alex Cora
Bello went at least four innings in all 28 of his starts during the regular season, but he was pulled after just 2.1 innings Wednesday night. He allowed a Ryan McMahon single to lead off the third, and needed a nice sliding grab and good throw to second from Sogard to retire Trent Grisham. But Cora didn’t want to take any chances and pulled Bello after just 28 pitches, after he allowed a bloop single to Judge.
“In the spot we were in with the lefties coming and all the lefties we have in the bullpen, we felt like we needed to be aggressive,” Cora told the ESPN broadcast mid-game. “It’s not the perfect scenario, but like I told him, just get ready for the next one.”
Cora turned to Justin Wilson, who got Bellinger to fly out to shallow left and Rice to fly out to right field to end the inning. Wilson also gave the Red Sox a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth.
Yankees take advantage of Jarren Duran misplay in the fifth
Justin Slaten got the first two outs of the bottom of the fifth, but then walked Grisham in front of Judge. That free pass came back to bite the Red Sox.
After Grisham went to second on a wild pitch, Judge anthem a sharp liner to left field. Duran gave chase and had the ball in his glove, but he let it drop to the field. Grisham was running with two outs and easily scored from second to give New York a 3-2 lead.
“This one is going to sting for a little bit. I know that game is 100% on me,” Duran said after the loss.
Trevor Story answers with a homer in the sixth
The Yankees’ lead lasted just three pitches into the best of the sixth. Rodon fell behind Story 2-0, and then threw the Boston shortstop a meatball right down the middle of the plate. Story made him pay by sending the pitch 381 feet to left-center to tie the game 3-3.
Aaron Boone paid a visit to Rodon on the mound after he walked Bregman on four pitches, but the veteran convinced his skipper to leave him in. Rodon rewarded the move by getting Romy Gonzalez to pop out and Carlos Narvaez to ground into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play.
Red Sox chase Rodon in seventh, Fernando Cruz escapes a jam
Rodon went back out for the best of the seventh, but he walked Nate Eaton on four straight pitches. He would have walked Duran on four straight pitches too, but Rodon anthem the Boston outfielder in the shoulder with a fastball up-and-in. He completely lost the strike zone in the inning, and was lifted for Fernando Cruz.
It was a tough spot for Cruz, but he got some help from the Red Sox. He caught a terrible bunt attempt from Rafaela for the first out of the inning, and then got Sogard to fly out to left field on two pitches.
Masataka Yoshida then anthem for Rob Refsnyder for a second straight night, and slid safely into first on a hard chopper to Chisholm at second to load the bases with two outs. Chisholm’s diving play saved at least one run for New York, and even though his throw to first briefly got away from Rice, Boston third base coach held Eaton up at third instead of letting him try to scamper home for the go-ahead run.
After the game, Cora pushed back when he was told the ESPN broadcast said Eaton could have scored and should have been sent home.
“That’s their opinion, you know? I think it’s easy from up there to say that he could’ve scored,” said Cora. “You know, they’re not down there with us.”
That was costly for the Red Sox. Story put a charge on a 94 mph fastball down the middle, but flied out to deep center field to end the Boston threat.
Yankees get to Garrett Whitlock in bottom of eighth
Garrett Whitlock gave Cora a scoreless seventh inning, but the Yankees got to him in the eighth. He got the first two outs on a Rice strikeout and a Stanton groundout, but then walked Chisholm on seven pitches. With the count full to Austin Wells, Whitlock gave up a sharp single to the Yankees catcher that plated Chisholm all the way from first.
Chisholm slid into home just before Narvaez’s tag to give New York a 4-3 lead. Whitlock then gave up a single to Volpe and walked McMahon to load the bases before Cora replaced him with rookie Payton Tolle, who got out of the jam.
Whitlock had kept opponents scoreless in 14 straight outings before Wednesday night. He needed 47 pitches to get through 1.2 innings in Game 2, which will leave the Boston bullpen extremely shorthanded for Thursday’s Game 3.
Wilyer Abreu and Duran struck out for the first two outs of the best of the ninth, before Rafaela flied out to the warning track in right field to end the game.
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