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Tonight's game shaped up to be a real pitchers' duel, as both Michael Pineda and Rick Porcello looked dominant after recently coming off of the disabled list. Porcello may have racked up nearly double the strikeouts that Pineda notched, but it was the Yankees' offense that came out on top.
By the end of the second inning, Porcello already had five strikeouts, and it's true that the Yankees spent the better part of the game striking out. Finally, in the fifth inning, their luck changed. Alex Rodriguez led off with a single to left, followed by strikeouts to Chase Headley and Greg Bird. Fortunately, Didi Gregorius hit a ball down the first base line that found its way under Travis Shaw's glove. Gregorius made it into second base then made it home on an RBI double off the bat of Stephen Drew, who has been hitting the ball well lately. The Yankees added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Brett Gardner launched a home run into right field, right by the foul pole.
As much as the Yankees struggled to get a hit off Porcello, the Red Sox bats were also quiet against Pineda. A lot of Yankee batters struck out tonight (13 against Porcello), but the only batter in tonight's game to earn a golden sombrero was David Ortiz after striking out three times against Pineda, and once against Betances. The Red Sox earned their only run of the game in the third inning after Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled and Pablo Sandoval singled to score the run. Pineda finished his night having pitched six innings while striking out seven Red Sox and giving up just four hits and zero walks. Justin Wilson gave up a hit and got a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning before being pulled in favor of Dellin Betances who gave up three hits and struck out two batters. Andrew Miller picked up his 29th save of the season after striking out the side to end the game.
Masahiro Tanaka will try to get the Yankees the series win tomorrow afternoon against Henry Owens. The game starts at 4:05 EST, because why not?