MLB
Pearce Crushes Three Home Runs as Red Sox Destroy Yankees 15-6
Tonight, the Red Sox met the Yankees at Fenway Park in a game that was crucial game for the Yankees. They were 5.5 games back of the Red Sox for the A.L. East lead. They needed this win if they wanted a shot to catch the Red Sox. Little did they know what Steve Pearce had for them.
The game’s pitching matchup was Brian Johnson vs. C.C. Sabathia. Brian Johnson was getting only his 7th start as Chris Sale is on the DL. This game also had a lot of star players missing from both teams on the DL.
Players on the DL:
Red Sox: Chris Sale, Xander Bogarts, Rafael Devers
Yankees: JA Happ, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez
The Yankees Quick Start
With the spot starter Johnson on the mound, the Yankees took off in the 1st. Aaron Hicks got on with an infield single, Stanton singled up the middle, and then Johnson left a fastball up. Didi Gregorius didn’t miss it and put it in the bullpen to put the Sox behind the eight ball early, down 3-0.
In the second with two outs, Mookie Betts had to look into that right field bullpen again as Aaron Hicks didn’t miss the curveball. It was then 4-0 Yankees.
Red Sox Strike Back
So in the bottom of the second inning, the Red Sox were threatening. Ian Kinsler blooped a broken bat single, Eduardo Nunez beat out a ground ball, and Brock Holt drew a walk. However, Jackie Bradley Jr. was called out on a low pitch that he didn’t like, and he had some words for the umpire. So with two outs and the bases loaded, up came Mookie Betts. Betts was very patient and drew a five-pitch walk to put the Sox on the board. So now it was up to Andrew Benintendi to push across a run or two. He hits a rocket to left center, but Gardner is there, so the Yankees avoid the huge inning. Moving on, in the 3rd, Steve Pearce doesn’t miss a meatball and takes C.C. over the monster to make it 4-2.
Then a crazy play happens, with a runner on 1st. Blake Swihart hits a line drive off of C.C., but then he throws the ball away. So now there are runners on 2nd and 3rd, but the Sox can’t convert.
Sox Explode in the 4th
The top of the 4th started off with a Bradley Jr. walk by Jonathan Holder, the new pitcher. Then with Mookie Betts up, Mookie flies one back at the monster, and it just hits off the top of the 30-foot wall. With Benintendi up, he has a golden chance to tie the game with a guy at 2nd and 3rd with no one out. Benintendi hits a hard chop to C.C. He then has Bradley caught between 3rd and home. Holder fires it to 3rd, and Bradley breaks home.
He slides under Romine’s tag, and everyone is safe. Then with Pearce up, Benintendi swipes 2nd. But one pitch later, Pearce hits a fastball deep for his 2nd deep ball of the game, and the Sox take the lead 6-4. Still, with nobody out, JD Martinez loops a double into left-center to bring up Kinsler. He keeps the line moving with a single, as JD scores to make it 7-4. With Holder not paying attention, Kinsler steals 2nd base.
Red Sox Keep Piling On
The pain continues for the Bronx Bombers as Nunez singles to make it 8-4. So after the inning’s 6th run with STILL nobody out, Aaron Boone finally brings a new pitcher in Chad Green. He gets an out as Swihart strikes out. Holt then flies out. Green, however, wasn’t out of the woods yet, as in with Bradley’s 2nd at-bat of the inning, he doubles off the wall to make it a seven-run inning at 9-4. Betts also singles, but Bradley must hold at 3rd. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Benintendi singles as Bradley scores his 2nd run of the inning, and Aaron Boone replaces Chad Greer with Lucas Cessa to face Steve Pearce. Pearce grounds out, and the 30-minute inning (yes it said that on the screen) is finally over. It comes with eight runs and a 10-4 Red Sox lead.
What Next?
The Yankees didn’t go away, as Didi hit his second long ball of the game. It just fits inside the Pesky Pole, and the lead was cut to 10-5. They didn’t score for the rest of the inning. First pitch of the bottom of the 5th, JD has another double, and a wild pitch moves him to 3rd. Kinsler then doubles down the line, and the Sox keep twisting the knife. In the 6th with Betts on 1st, Benintendi gets another double to get the Sox to the dozen mark at 12-5.
Moments later, the legend that is Steve Pearce finishes off the hat-trick with his 3rd home run over the monster for a comfortable 14-5. In the 7th, Stanton tries to pad the stats and hits his 25 long balls to left and makes it 14-6. In the bottom of the 8th, Steve Pearce had a chance for a 4th home run. However, he was walked by Cessa, and Cessa sure did hear it from the Red Sox crowd. JD Martinez then gets an infield single to make it 15-6. The Yankees do push across a sympathy run to make it 15-7. However, it was still a loss as the Red Sox win by that score.
