Red Sox dismiss GM Dave Dombrowski after Yankees beat them 10-5

Gleyber Torres stole the show on Sunday night, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBI as the New York Yankees powered past the Boston Red Sox, 10-5.

The Yankees got to the Red Sox’ pitching staff early and often last night. Following an Edwin Encarnacion single in the second, Gleyber Torres mashed his 35th home run of the year, drilling the ball over the Green Monster in left-center field. In the following inning, a ground-rule double by Mike Tauchman began a rally that scored two off the bats of Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, bringing the Yankees’ lead to 4-0.

The Red Sox would cut the lead in half off a two-run home run by Jackie Bradley Jr. in the bottom of the third, but the Yankees’ offense struck back quickly in the top of the fourth. Mike Tauchman launched his 13th home run of the season around the Pesky Pole, scoring Torres, who had singled and stolen second; this home run was the Yankees’ 267th of the season, tying the franchise record for most home runs in a season, set last year.

That record would not stay tied for long, however, as Judge launched his 21st home run over the Monster to lead off the fourth. His first career home run in Fenway Park was an historic one—and it gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead.

The Yankees would add another run later in the inning on a Gleyber Torres groundball, extending the Yankees’ lead to 8-4.

In the top of the ninth, the Yankees put together another rally, in large part thanks to a double-error by Boston third baseman Rafael Devers that put runners on second and third with one out for Encarnacion. He bounced a single over Devers’ head to drive in Didi Gregorius. Following one of seven Boston pitching changes, Torres doubled off the Monster, scoring Gary Sanchez.

One of the big stories for the Yankees throughout the month of September is the battle for the playoff rotation, and starter Masahiro Tanaka did not do himself any favors. While he was not exactly bad—and certainly much better than his first two starts against Boston this season—he was far from dominant, giving up only four runs on eight hits in four innings. Fortunately, he still has time to build on his recent quality performances, and he won’t have to face down the Red Sox for the rest of the season.

Aside from a Mookie Betts home run off Adam Ottavino in the eighth, the bullpen shut down the Red Sox’ offense. Chad Green took over from Tanaka in the fifth, and he continued his bounce-back second half. He completely dominated the Red Sox’ lineup, providing three perfect innings, striking out five. It was the reliever’s longest outing since he went 3.1 on June 6, 2017, which also came against the Boston Red Sox. Jonathan Loaisiga then rounded things off with an uneventful ninth.

Of course, this being a Yankees game, another player went down with an injury. This time, the unlucky contestant was Mike Tauchman, who came up limping while fielding a Brock Holt single to right field. You can find more information on this story here. Let’s hope it’s not too serious, but given the 2019 season, we can do nothing but hold our collective breath.

This was a big win for the Yankees who improve now to 94-50 and are 8.5 games up in the AL East; they are also tied with the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL. Chad Green gets the win, improving to 3-4, while Rick Porcello falls to 12-12 and Dave Dombroski gets sent to the curb. With this loss, the Boston Red Sox are now 17.5 games back in the division, with only 19 games remaining.

The Yankees finish their season series with the Red Sox tonight, as they have the opportunity to officially eliminate their archrivals from the divisional race. James Paxton will start for the Yankees against Boston “ace” Eduardo Rodriguez.