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Sox, Yankees: Try to Avoid the “Cell-ah”

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BOSTON – The visiting New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, teams battling to avoid the cellar in the American League East, will meet tonight in the first game of a four-game series, weather permitting.

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The Yankees (71-72) are at the bottom of the division, two games behind the fourth-place Red Sox (73-70). Odds available HERE.

New York had lost three in a row until defeating the visiting Milwaukee 4-3 on Sunday. The Yankees prevailed when catcher Kyle Higashioka drove in Everson Pereira with a double in the 13th inning. New York had been no-hit through regulation.

“Really good at-bat,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously (Higashioka has) lost some playing time here of late, but, you know, another guy who’s just a pro. Ready to go. … Excited for him and happy we could pull one out on our way to Boston.”

The Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak by beating Baltimore 7-3 Sunday. Rookie Triston Casas hit a three-run home run — his 24th homer of the season — in the victory.

“Just happy to get a pitch over the middle of the plate to hit,” Casas said. “There were a lot of positives to take out of (Sunday’s win) — and this whole series. It’s really satisfying to at least salvage (one victory in) the series. We know that they didn’t play their best game. They made a couple key errors in some big situations that really could have put the game away, but that’s baseball. We were able to capitalize on those mistakes and come out with a win.”

The Yankees will send right-hander Clarke Schmidt (9-8, 4.54 ERA) to the mound for Monday’s game. Righty Kutter Crawford (6-7, 4.36) is Boston’s probable starter.

Schmidt had gone four appearances without a victory until he earned the win for throwing 6 1/3 innings during Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over Detroit. Schmidt allowed three runs on five hits, struck out six and had no walks. He retired 16 consecutive batters at one point.

Schmidt’s season got off to a rough beginning, as he had a 6.30 ERA though his first nine starts.

“On the whole, he’s just gotten to be a much better pitcher, more polished pitcher,” Boone said. “I think he’s proven that he can be a starter in this league. I think he’s really got a grasp of his arsenal and how to use it and when to use it.

“I think he’s really learned a lot from his experiences from start to start. … Certainly took his lumps the first month or so of the season, but learned a lot from that.”

Schmidt is 0-1 with a 4.03 ERA in seven career appearances (three starts) against the Red Sox. He’s surrendered five home runs in 22 1/3 innings against them.

Crawford is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in his career against the Yankees. He’s made five appearances against the Yankees (three starts) and has 19 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Crawford struggled with his command in Tuesday’s 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay. He gave up five runs on three hits, walked four and struck out five in 3 2/3 innings. Crawford has allowed 11 runs in his last two outings (6 1/3 innings).

The Red Sox are 2-7 in their last nine home games.

–Field Level Media

Turner Breaks Tie and Yanks

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Justin Turner hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the host New York Yankees 6-5 on Sunday afternoon to send their longtime rival to an eighth straight loss for the first time since 1995.

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Boston got its seventh straight win over the Yankees when Turner hit an 0-1 sinker from Clay Holmes (4-4) to the warning track in right field to easily score Pablo Reyes, who hit a leadoff single.

Before Turner’s hit, the Yankees appeared to take the lead in the eighth when Isiah Kiner-Falefa scored from first on rookie Anthony Volpe’s single.

The Red Sox challenged the play for obstruction and Kiner-Falefa’s run was overturned. The Yankees then were unsuccessful in challenging that catcher Connor Wong blocked the plate.

The Yankees are on their first eight-game skid since Aug. 19-26, 1995, when they went from 53-50 to 53-58 before finishing 26-7 to get the first wild-card spot.

Boston reliever Chris Martin (4-1) got the win and Kenley Jansen struck out two and stranded two in the ninth for his 29th save.

Turner drove in four runs and gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead in the seventh with a three-run homer off Michael King one pitch after slugger Rafael Devers was intentionally walked.

Devers homered and had hits in his first three at-bats. He also scored Boston’s second run on a throwing error by shortstop Volpe in the sixth.

Kyle Higashioka and Gleyber Torres hit tying homers in the third and sixth off bulk reliever Nick Pivetta. Volpe hit a tying three-run homer off John Schreiber in the seventh before pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton faced left-hander Brennan Bernardino and flew out with two on to end the inning.

Six days after allowing eight runs in Atlanta, New York starter Clarke Schmidt allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

After opener Josh Winckowski pitched the first, Pivetta allowed two runs and three hits in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Batting Practice in the Bronx

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NEW YORK – Boston rookie OF Masataka Yoshida hit a three-run homer four batters in, starting pitcher Brayan Bello tossed six effective innings and the Boston Red Sox recorded an 8-3 victory over the slumping, last place New York Yankees on Friday night in the Bronx.

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The Red Sox beat the Yankees for the sixth time in seven meetings this season and won their fifth straight over New York.

Justin Turner hit singles in each of his first three at-bats and produced a pair of RBI singles. Rafael Devers also had two RBIs, one of which was an RBI single to start Boston’s three-run second that followed a fielding error by New York second baseman Gleyber Torres.

NY slugger Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the eighth as the Yankees lost their sixth straight. It is their longest slide since dropping seven straight Sept 4-10, 2021.

The Red Sox took a 4-0 lead 19 pitches in against rookie Jhony Brito (4-6) when Yoshida hit a changeup into the right-center field seats.

Boston opened with four straight hits and Turner preceded Yoshida’s 13th homer with an RBI base hit after Verdugo and Rafael Devers poked hits. Yoshida homered after the Yankees were charged with consecutive mound visits to go over signs after Brito encountered trouble because the PitchCom device was not working for both teams.

Yoshida capped the second with a base hit to make it 7-0 and Devers contributed another RBI single in the ninth.

Bello (9-7) allowed one run and six hits to win for the third time in four starts. He struck out four, walked one and beat the Yankees for the second time this season.

After Garrett Whitlock allowed Judge’s 23rd homer, he ended the eighth by striking out Giancarlo Stanton. Brennan Bernardino allowed two hits in the ninth before Chris Martin finished it.

The Yankees avoided being shutout in three straight games when Anthony Volpe doubled and scored on DJ LeMahieu’s groundout in the third.

Brito allowed seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Face Struggling NY Yankees

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees are looking forward to returning home even if the fans’ reaction might turn hostile.

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The Boston Red Sox are in contention for a wild-card spot and can bolster their postseason hopes while burying their rival even further. (Betting Odds)

Under .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1995, the Yankees host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

New York returns home for the first time since splitting a four-game series with the Houston Astros on Aug. 6. The Yankees went 2-7 on a road trip against the Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves and are 6 1/2 games behind Toronto for the final American League wild-card spot.

Rob Refsnyder walked and Devers followed with his 27th homer of the season, a shot into the second deck in right center that pulled the Red Sox within 9-7.

Garrett’s RBI single in the eighth made it 10-7.

Casas gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead when he homered leading off the third.

The Nationals quickly tied it in the bottom of the third. Jeter Downs walked, stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Wong. Downs scored when third baseman Devers misplayed a Meneses grounder.

Sweeps x 2 for Red Sox Over Yankees

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BOSTON – Brayan Bello pitched seven innings against the New York Yankees for the second time in as many starts, leading the host Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 win on Sunday night. The win capped sweeps of a day-night doubleheader and the three-game series for Boston, which is 5-1 against the rival Yankees this season.

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Bello (4-4) struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed just one run on four hits and three walks across his seven-inning outing.

Alex Verdugo went 2-for-4 and Triston Casas hit a two-run double to lead the Red Sox offense.

After Josh Winckowski pitched a scoreless eighth inning, Kenley Jansen struck out two and worked around a single in the ninth to post his 15th save.

Gleyber Torres had a pair of doubles to account for two of New York’s five hits. Anthony Rizzo had the Yankees’ lone RBI.

Bello danced out of the first allowing only one run after Jake Bauers walked, Torres lined a double to right and Rizzo had an RBI groundout. Bello retired the next two Yankees to limit the damage.

A two-out run allowed the Red Sox to even the score in the second. After a Rafael Devers leadoff single and Rob Refsnyder’s sacrifice bunt, Enrique Hernandez ripped an RBI double down into the left field corner.

The Red Sox defense made several strong plays to keep the visitors to one run. Center fielder Jarren Duran’s running catch into the triangle in center was a definite highlight, robbing Rizzo of an extra-base hit to end the third.

In the fourth, Reese McGuire reached on catcher’s interference to score Verdugo for Boston’s go-ahead run.

Two runs in the fifth allowed the Red Sox to extend their lead to 4-1. Duran drew a leadoff walk and stole second base with one out. Shortly after Verdugo’s fly ball to shallow center landed for a base hit, Casas stepped up with the bases loaded and hit a two-out, two-run double that bounced into the right field stands.

Luis Severino (0-2) was the New York starter, and he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings. He fanned six.

Bello stranded two Yankees in both the sixth and seventh innings, striking out Bauers swinging on his final pitch of the game.

–Field Level Media

Let’s Play Two on Father’s Day

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BOSTON – The Red Sox-Yankees game scheduled for Saturday, June 17, at Fenway Park was postponed due to the heavy rainfall in the Fenway area throughout last evening.

The Saturday night game has been rescheduled as the first game of a split doubleheader today, June 18, beginning at 1:35 p.m. Tickets for Saturday’s game will be good for admission to the rescheduled contest. Tonight’s regularly scheduled game remains at 7:10 p.m.

The rescheduled game on June 18 will be televised on NESN and broadcast in English on WEEI 93.7 FM and in Spanish on WAMG 890 AM/WCCM 1490 AM.

Red Sox Have Upper Hand v NYY

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Meeting for the second time this season in Boston, the Red Sox and New York Yankees will conclude their three-game series with a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. The Sox have had the upper hand in the rivalry so far this season, taking two of three games in the Bronx last weekend before rolling to Friday’s 15-5 win at Fenway.

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Led by Justin Turner’s 3-for-5 performance that included two home runs and six RBIs, Boston set season-high marks for runs and hits on Friday. The Red Sox have scored 27 runs over their last three games.

“It seems like every game we have played has been in the 50s, and (Friday), it felt like summer,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “You know how it plays here in the summer and the ball will carry. And the guys did an outstanding job putting pressure on (Yankees starter Domingo) German. We did some great things. We put pressure on their defense.”

After a rainy Saturday, Boston looks to continue its success behind a shuffled pitching rotation.

Brayan Bello (3-4, 3.78 ERA) will start Game 2 after being initially slated to work on Saturday. The Red Sox have yet to name a starter for the first game of the twin bill.

Bello has a 2.80 ERA over his last eight starts, which included seven innings of two-run, three-hit ball last Sunday in New York. Three of the 24-year-old’s last four starts have spanned at least six frames.

“He came back up (from Triple-A Worcester) with a great attitude,” Red Sox utility man Enrique Hernandez said of Bello. “Same story as last year (when) he takes the mound. He seems like he gets better. I think he is mature beyond his years.”

The Yankees will trot out the hurlers who were originally lined up to pitch the final two games of the series.

Game 1 starter Clarke Schmidt (2-6, 4.70) boasts a 2.33 ERA over his last five starts. The right-hander took a no-decision despite allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings opposite Bello last Sunday.

Entering the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader, New York is 11-13 against American League East teams and 28-18 against squads from all other divisions.

“Through this stretch where it’s been tough for us over the last 10 days, we’ve played really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We just haven’t put a lot of points on the board. (Friday) we were at least able to get some runs on the board, but overall, we just did not play a very clean game.”

In the nightcap, Luis Severino (0-1, 6.48) will look for his first win of 2023. He allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday in a Subway Series game against the Mets, which the Yankees eventually won 7-6.

Severino has only surpassed the five-inning mark once this season (May 27 against San Diego) and has given up five or more earned runs in two of his last three outings.

Combining those games, Severino has covered just 13 2/3 innings and has allowed 16 earned runs on 22 hits. He has also surrendered seven homers during that span.

“I didn’t get better,” Severino said. “I need to be a better pitcher. I feel like every time they give me the ball, I’m not helping the team right now. I just need to figure out what’s going on. Hopefully, I can do that soon.”

–Field Level Media

Yankees: Not Ready for Prime Time

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Justin Turner had a career-high-tying six RBIs and Masataka Yoshida posted his first career four-hit game as the host Boston Red Sox rolled past the rival New York Yankees 15-5 on Friday night. The Red Sox reached their season high in both runs and hits (17).

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Turner went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and a grand slam, and Yoshida finished 4-for-4 to help Boston compile a season-high 17 hits.

Alex Verdugo, Triston Casas and Pablo Reyes had two hits apiece for the Red Sox, who have won back-to-back games and improved to 3-1 against New York this season.

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck exited the game after taking Kyle Higashioka’s comebacker off the head in the top of the fifth. He walked off under his own power, with blood on his right cheek, and he was diagnosed with a facial contusion.

Joe Jacques (1-0) earned his first major league win despite allowing three runs (one earned) in two innings.

Josh Donaldson went 2-for-4 and Anthony Rizzo had three RBIs for New York.

Boston led 4-1 before a six-run third broke the game wide open. Adam Duvall hit a leadoff double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Yoshida’s base hit. Christian Arroyo followed with a double that ended Yankees starter Domingo German’s outing and continued the inning.

Reyes hit an RBI single off Matt Krook to make it 6-1. After a Verdugo single, Turner crushed a grand slam to straightaway center to bring the Red Sox into double digits.

In the fourth, Connor Wong and Reyes hit back-to-back RBI singles.

New York got back on the board in the sixth as Rizzo lined a two-run double to center and scored on Billy McKinney’s single. A Casas RBI single gave Boston a run in the next half-inning.

Donaldson hit a towering solo homer in the eighth, and Casas replied with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame.

The Yankees got on the board in the first inning as Jake Bauers hit a leadoff double into the right field corner and scored on Rizzo’s groundout.

It did not take much time for the home team to respond and flip the score as Yoshida’s two-out, two-run double made it 2-1 in the bottom of the first. A Turner double and Rafael Devers walk with one out set up the Japanese star.

The Red Sox extended their lead when Turner hit a two-run shot into the Green Monster seats after Verdugo’s two-out double in the second.

German (4-4) was charged with seven hits and seven runs over two-plus innings. He walked two and struck out one.

–Field Level Media

Yankees’ Home Runs Sink Red Sox

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BRONX, NY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s SP Domingo German allowed only a home run to Boston’s 3B Rafael Devers in six solid innings as the host New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 Saturday.

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New York’s duo of Gleyber Torres homered in the fourth and Willie Calhoun hit a tie-breaking homer in the sixth as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox for the seventh time in the past eight home meetings. Kyle Higashioka of the Yanks added an RBI single in the seventh.

German (4-3) allowed one run on six hits for his third career win over the Red Sox and first since Aug. 3, 2019.

Devers homered for the second straight night after ending a 16-game home run drought Friday. It was Devers’ 21st career homer against the Yankees since making his debut in 2017.

Before the homer, German retired Devers twice with a runner on base. In the first, German stranded Justin Turner at first by fanning Devers. Two innings later, Turner was stranded at third when left fielder Jake Bauers made a leaping catch of a Devers drive while crashing into the left-field fence.

Wild Card Could’ve Been an Ace

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Red Sox Host Yankees in AL “One & Done”

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Oh what a difference eight games has made. Fresh in their minds, the Red Sox have the recent series loss of blowing two-of-three to Baltimore from September 28-30, but do you remember those three straight games lost to those same Orioles to start the season? Then there was the other recent would’a, could’a, should’a – the devastating three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees September 24-28. That’s eight games in the loss column right there.

The 2021 Boston Red Sox rarely lost three games in a row during the season, but when they did, they were clinkers, for sure.

Three losses to the rival Yanks (August 17-18) cost them dearly, as did dropping 12-of-15 in a mid-summer swoon from July 28 to August 10th. That midseason debacle included five losses in six games against the 100-win Tampa Bay Rays, the champions of the American League East.

In Major League Baseball, it’s the price you pay for losing important games during the season while still managing to win an impressive 92 games. Both the Sox and the Yanks finished 92-70 and earned the right to play a single-elimination game on Bill James‘ birthday.

The 92 wins bounced the powerful Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and the September red-hot Seattle Mariners (90-72) from wild card contention. Those two teams will be looking back at the 162-game schedule and lamenting opportunities lost and saves blown. It is not the last we will hear from the young, talented and offensive juggernaut Blue Jays, that is for sure.

It could be worse, as the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in this one-and-done Fall Foolishness after winning 106 regular season games, one shy of the 107-55 San Francisco Giants, the surprise team of this year of COVID-19+2. Can you imagine? winning 106 games, second-most in the majors and being subject to the one-game boot, depending on the performances of LA’s Max Scherzer and St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.

While contemplating all the ‘game of inches’ aspects of Baseball, a thought made famous by Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II, and said to myself, “This is the business we’ve chosen.” The rules were written in plain English before the start of the season and the results are clear.

Playing in a Major League Baseball wild card game could be replaced by dozens of other mechanisms to determine a true postseason participant. “Spin-the-Bottle” might be appropriate and quite easy to orchestrate if you had 18 players stand in a circle, the starting nine for each team alternating one by one. A sponsor, such as Bud Light, would eat it up, if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred chugged a beer, put down the long neck and gave it a spin to decide if the Red Sox or Yanks would advance to a “real series.” Winner plays on Thursday night on FS-1, if you can find it on your dial.

Maybe the Bruins and Rangers could settle the wild card, competing in an NHL-style shoot-out on behalf of their brethren. After all, one-on-one breakaways to settle a hockey game is even more ridiculous than spin-the-bottle or a one-game elimination after 162 game season, isn’t it?

How about jump shots from the top of the key? Boston would pick Larry Bird to represent the Red Sox and the Knicks? Well, Charles Oakley, or even better, Ken “The Animal” Bannister, might do well for Go New York, Go New York, Go!

The fact of the matter is that these “One-and-done-tobers” might go the way of the “No Pepper” signs, as MLB is contemplating a 16-team postseason to be enacted as early as 2022. The future first round would be best-of-three series which seems a bit more reasonable, although not great. The problem at hand for MLB, the season can’t begin any earlier in March nor end any later into November, unless Canada Goose becomes the official uniform supplier.

The club owners and the television networks want more programming. The players want more money. The fans will get what MLB serves up, and chances are, they’ll like it. After all, it can all boil down to one pitch, one blown save, one Baltimore chop single, or one Steve Bartman fan-interference fiasco.

Baseball. It’s a game of inches and first pitch is 8:09pm (EDT) tonight.