Yankees 13, Red Sox 8: Offense strikes early and often as Yanks outlast Boston

The first six innings of this game went about as well as possible. The offense piled on the runs. Masahiro Tanaka pitched a pretty solid game. But after Tanaka went out, the bullpen had a bit of a hard time holding onto the Yankees' big lead, forcing them to have to use Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. It wasn't a pretty game, but in the end, the Yankees hung on for a 13-8 win over the Red Sox.

The Red Sox struck first with a run in the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts led off the game for Boston with a double off the Green Monster. Tanaka then nearly got out of the inning without any damage when he got the next two outs while keeping Betts at second. However, David Ortiz would hit a ground-rule double to score Betts and make it 1-0.

In the top of the second, the Yankees would strike right back and take the lead. After Carlos Beltran struck out, Chase Headley drew a walk. Greg Bird would then take a Henry Owens pitch over the right field wall. John Ryan Murphy would follow that up by going back-to-back, as he hit a home run over the Green Monster, making it 3-1. It didn't end there. Didi Gregorius would bloop in a single. That was followed by a Stephen Drew double and then a Brett Gardner walk. Chris Young then added a single off the Monster. Gregorius scored, but Drew held up, which got Gardner in a run down that got him tagged out. Young did move up to second on the play, though. Alex Rodriguez then continued the carousel with a single down the third base line. Drew and Young scored, chasing Owens from the game. Ryan Cook came in for Owens, but that didn't really change Boston's fortunes. Carlos Beltran hit a two-run home run off Cook. By the time the dust settled and the inning finished, the Yankees led 8-1.

An inning later, the Yankees further added to their lead. Bird and Gregorius drew walks on either side of a Murphy fly out. Drew then continued his tear with a three-run home run, making it 11-1. In the fifth, Gregorius also continued his hot hitting with a solo home run to make it 12-1.

The Red Sox got a run back in the fifth. Blake Swihart led off the inning with a double and came around to score after tagging up on two straight fly outs. Xander Bogaerts added another run with a solo homer in the sixth. That made it 12-3.

Other than the aforementioned blips, Tanaka was pretty good. He came back out to pitch the seventh, but after allowing a one-out walk to Swihart, he was taken out. Tanaka went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five. He was replaced by Andrew Bailey, who was making his first big league appearance since July 12, 2013. He walked the next two hitters before getting Pablo Sandoval to fly out. It was deep enough to Swihart to tag up and score, however. Bogaerts then added a single that scored another run, making it 12-5. Bailey was taken out after that. Not an ideal outing, but hard to give him too much crap considering it was his first in over two years. Justin Wilson came in and induced a fly out to end the inning. The Yankees then tacked on a 13th run in the eighth inning.

Bryan Mitchell came in to pitch the eighth, but after allowing two runs, only getting one out, and leaving the bases loaded, Girardi's hand was forced. He had to go back to the bullpen and bring in Betances. It's a bit maddening to have to use Dellin in what was a blowout, but with the off day tomorrow, it's not quite as bad as it could've been. Betances finally ended the inning and sent us to the ninth with the score 13-7.

Caleb Cotham came in to pitch the ninth, but like the mops before him, that didn't go great. After Cotham allowed a run without recording an out, Girardi had to go and bring in Miller. It took a bit of time, but Miller finally finished off a 13-8 win for the Yankees. It got way too close for anyone's liking at the end, but it still goes in the win column.

The Yankees have the day off tomorrow as they head back to the Bronx for a series against the Rays starting Friday.

Box score.