Sweeping Up
Sunday, May 1, 2016 – Fenway Park, Section 2
Red Sox 8, Yankees 7
The Red Sox came into Sunday Night Baseball having beaten the Yankees on Friday and Saturday. They started the day half a game behind the Orioles for first place in the East, while the Yankees sat in the basement, five games back. The Orioles had already lost their afternoon game, so a win tonight would not only complete the sweep but put the Sox in first place.
It was cold enough to see my breath and raining steadily, so I didn’t go out to my bleacher seat. I stayed in the standing room in the back of the grandstand in Section 2 in right field, eventually moving into an empty seat at the end of the fourth.
Christian Vazquez warms up in front of the bullpen as the grounds crew prepares to roll up the tarp. This was my first chance to see Vazquez this year as he returns from Tommy John surgery. He's been a favorite of mine since he was in the minors, so it's good to have him back!
Mookie Betts leads off in front of a rain-soaked crowd. He opened with a single and came around to score the first run of the game.
Brock Holt dives back into first after a pickoff attempt. When the ball skipped past Mark Teixeira, Brockstar scampered into second.
David Price wasn't sharp. After the Red Sox jumped out to a 1-0 lead, he gave up three runs in the third to put them in a 3-1 hole. But he stayed in through the seventh as the offense rallied, pitching long enough to get credited with the win.
Mookie Betts beats the throw to first and reaches safely on a fielder's choice in the fourth.
In the bottom of the third, the Sox put together four singles and a walk to score three more runs and retake the lead, 4-3. Then in the fifth Price gave up three more runs, putting them down 6-4. But the Red Sox continued to rally. Travis Shaw’s two-run homer in the fifth tied the game at 6-6. The rain stopped around that time, and during the seventh inning stretch I made my move to some vacated box seats behind third base.
Mookie Betts, dirt dog.
Brock Holt, also a dirt dog.
Dustin Pedroia, perpetual dirt dog.
Xander Bogaerts, dirt dog from Aruba, who's so cold he has to wear a ski mask, but not so cold he can't blow a bubble.
I had just settled into my new seat, with the game tied 6-6, when Travis Shaw reached on a single. He was replaced by Brock Holt on a fielder’s choice and then the Yankees went to the ‘pen to bring in their relief ace, Dellin Betances. His first pitch to Christian Vazquez was launched way over the Green Monster, giving the Sox an 8-6 lead.
Christian Vazquez rounds third after his monstrous blast.
There was still the matter of holding the lead for the next two innings, and although the Yankees did score one against Koji Uehara in the eighth, Craig Kimbrel nailed it down in the ninth to preserve the win. The Red Sox completed the sweep and moved into sole possession of first place, while the Yankees moved further into the basement where they belong. Life is good!
Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close it out.
