Yankees 4, Red Sox 5: Ninth inning rally in vain after Bombers squander golden chances

An annoying stretch was always likely to come for the Yankees at some point. Well, it’s very much in full flow now.

Down to their last three outs, the Yankees rallied after going into the ninth inning down a run. They not only tied the game, but had a golden opportunity to win it right then and there. In the 10th, they again had a great chance to get the walk-off. However again, they couldn’t get it done. Eventually, that came back to haunt them as the Red Sox came away with a 5-4 win in 11 innings in a performance that won’t be going on the Yankees’ highlight reel.

The game started in about the least ideal fashion possible for the Yankees. After starter Jordan Montgomery walked Rob Refsnyder, Rafael Devers continued his torturing of the Yankees, homering to give Boston the lead before an out had been recorded. Montgomery did manage to keep it from getting worse, which it could have as the next two Boston hitters reached after the homer. It took 30 pitches in the inning, but eventually he managed to escape the jam.

The Yankees put runners on in both of the first two innings, but failed to take advantage. It looked like that might happen again in the third, but the middle of the order had other ideas. With DJ LeMahieu on after a single, Anthony Rizzo battled back to draw a two-out walk after he had fallen behind 0-2 in the count. With life still in the inning, Giancarlo Stanton came to the plate and crushed a three-run home run to give the Yankees the lead.

Said lead didn’t last super long, though. After the home run and ensuing jam in the first, Montgomery bounced back and retired seven hitters in a row at one point. However, that was broken when Christian Vázquez tied things up with a solo shot in the third.

After the poor first inning, Montgomery did a solid job of bouncing back and eating up some frames. He ended up getting through six innings, having allowed three runs on six hits and a walk.

Aroldis Chapman came in to replace him, but his struggles would continue. Against the first batter he faced, Chapman allowed a solo shot to Bobby Dalbec, giving the Red Sox the lead again. He retired the next three hitters after that, but the damage had been done.

After that, Wandy Peralta threw scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, keeping the Yankees in the game.

While that gave the Yankees a shot, it seemed like their offense wasn’t going to take it. The last couple innings were seemingly by without of anything doing from anyone at the plate. In the eighth, the only notable thing that really happened was another very bad low strike call on Judge that rung him up and took the bat out of his hands. That would set the stage for the next inning.

Down their last three outs, Gleyber Torres led off the ninth. He grounded one to third that Devers couldn’t make a play on, putting the tying run on base. During the next at-bat, Matt Chapman took a very low strike, which had become a regular occurrence late in the game, this particular one set off manager Aaron Boone, leading to an ejection and argument.

After all the dust had settled from that, Chapman eventually reached base after being hit by a pitch. Next up was Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who laid down a bunt. It wasn’t the best effort, and Houck fielded it and had makeable play at third to get the lead runner. However, he sent the throw flying past Devers, allowed Torres to come around to score and tie the game. Boston then opted to intentionally walk Aaron Hicks, giving the Yankees the bases loaded with nobody out. After that, the most annoying sequence possible played out. Jose Trevino grounded into a double play, with one of the outs coming at home. DJ LeMahieu then came up with the winning run still just 90 feet away, but he grounded out, ending the chance.

For the third-straight day, the Yankees went into extra innings, and they opted to give the ball to Clay Holmes for the 10th. After getting two quick outs, they understandably opted to intentionally walk Devers. The man after him is pretty good too, though, and J.D. Martinez single. A great play by Stanton forced the Red Sox to hold the runner at third, which would be especially huge as Holmes then struck out Xander Bogaerts to end the game.

With another chance at winning, the Yankees again managed to not do it in a frustrating manner. After a Judge groundout, Boston intentionally walked Anthony Rizzo to set up a double play. That very nearly happened as Stanton did hit a hard grounder, but Tanner Houck deflected it, giving the Red Sox no play and loading the bases. With a chance to win it, Torres grounded into yet another brutal double play.

Michael King came in for the 11th and got a fly ball in the first at bat, but it was deep enough for Bogaerts to tag up and move to third, which would be quite big. King then induced a groundball that kept the runner on third, and then got ahead 0-2 in the next at-bat. The third pitch would be in the dirt, and got just far enough away from Trevino for Bogaerts to make a dash for home. Trevino couldn’t come up with the ball in time to make the play, giving Boston the lead. In the bottom of the 11th, the Yankees went down in order, dooming them to another frustrating loss.

In terms of the standings, the Yankees are still doing better than fine. In terms of vibes, they really need to change something in a hurry. They’ll have a chance tomorrow night, when Jameson Taillon faces Nick Pivetta with first pitch at 7:15pm ET.

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