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Regression in real time is a heck of a thing to witness. After pitching so spectacularly in recent weeks, Luis Severino was absolutely bombarded in a long, rather miserable Saturday afternoon game, as New York lost 10 to 5 against the Red Sox.
There was some good news in this game. Take Gary Sanchez’s screaming two-run home run in the first inning for example. The liner put the Yankees up 2-0 early. Sanchez has owned Drew Pomeranz through his young career, and kept it up today. Overall, the Yankees’ offense was pretty dynamic on the afternoon, with nine hits, three home runs, and three walks.
The bad news? Pretty much everything else. Severino got into trouble, walking the two bottom of the order Red Sox in the third before Todd Frazier flubbed a ground ball that if fielded cleanly, might have been a double play. A Mookie Betts single tied the game at two, and Andrew Benintendi followed him with a three-run blast to give the Red Sox a 5-2 lead.
The Yankees appeared to be prime for a comeback, loading the bases with nobody out the very next inning. Ceding to fans’ recent calls for more contact and less focus on home runs, the next three Yankee batters refused to hit any home runs, settling for a RBI groundout from Jacoby Ellsbury and then two popouts. Small ball!
The Red Sox tacked on a couple more runs on Severino, with a second three-run dinger from Benintendi and a two-run double off the bat of Rafael Devers. I’m sure many people will break down the poor start Sevy had today, but after sitting through all of that, I’d just as soon chalk it up as a bad start and hope the kid moves on.
Robby Scott came in for the ninth with a seven-run lead, and allowed a couple Yankees hitters to pad their stats. Chase Headley clubbed a solo home run to lead off the inning, making it 10 - 4. After four home runs in 302 first half plate appearances, Headley has three in just 107 PAs in the second half.
Ellsbury added the second half of back-to-back jacks with his first since May. That cut the deficit to “just” fie. With things looking good for the Bombers, John Farrell got Craig Kimbrel up and warming, but he wasn’t needed. Scott settled down and retired the next three in order to finish the game.
The rubber match goes tomorrow on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, with first pitch just after 8pm EDT. Jordan Montgomery is in line to make the start despite taking a line drive off his head during pregame batting practice. The Red Sox counter with Chris Sale, who has not beaten the Yankees in two tries this season.