The Yankees had chances, but failed to capitalize as they dropped the first game of the series against the Boston Red Sox, 5-3, on Friday night in The Bronx.
New York (37-26) went 1-for-6 with RISP and left seven men on base. Boston (27-35) didn't tally a hit in the last four innings.
Here are the takeaways…
- SpencerJones, called up with Aaron Judge set for a long stint on the IL, singled up the middle in his first trip to the plate before he notched an RBI double, bouncing a 3-0 offering down the first baseline in the fourth for the Yankees' lone hit with a runner in scoring position on the night. The RF, who was 4-for-24 during his first stint in the big leagues, got his first career three-hit game with a two-out single in the sixth.
- Ben Rice put the Yanks up 1-0 in the first, taking a hanging Sonny Gray curveball 377 feet to right. It was Rice's 18th homer and 45th RBI of the year. He added a smashed single to right and a walk, but struck out swinging to end the seventh, chasing ball four against lefty Danny Coulombe. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Trent Grisham, who grounded out to second his first two times up, got a sweeper in the happy zone and clocked it 424 feet into the second deck in right (108.3 mph off the bat) for a solo shot. Grisham has been swinging a better bat of late; he entered the game 15 for his last 43 (.349) with a .917 OPS. With two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, he grounded out to first to finish 1-for-5.
- Ryan Weathers got a scare when Red Sox leadoff man Jarren Duran clubbed the game's first pitch to the warning track in left for a long out. After the six-pitch clean first, the left-hander followed with a 10-pitch second, getting around a one-out single.
Weathers was in a spot of bother with one out in the third when Connor Wong flipped a single into left, Duran singled into right on a ball that ticked off Paul Goldschmidt’s glove at first, and he walked Ceddanne Rafaela on four pitches. The righty traded a run for an out on a slow roller to short, but allowed Boston to go ahead on a WillsonContreras check-swing infield hit as the pitcher’s throw to first pulled Goldschmidt off the bag.
After picking up his second strikeout of the night, Andruw Monasterio absolutely smoked a 3-2 Weathers fastball 408 feet into left field for a solo homer in the fourth. And after getting two quick outs in the fifth, a bouncing ball just eluded Jazz Chisholm Jr. in shallow right and Weathers paid the price when Contreras clobbered a changeup at the bottom of the zone 419 feet that just stayed fair around the left-field foul pole to give the visitors a 5-2 edge.
Weathers finished his night with a 1-2-3 sixth, his final line: 6 innings, five runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts on 93 pitches (57 strikes).
- Anthony Volpe, who entered the game with two hits in his last 18 at-bats, took a cutter the other way for a single to put to aboard with one out in the second. He had a bit of bad luck to end the fourth, when his liner up the middle was snared by Monasterio, who doubled Jones off second. Volpe had more bad luck in the sixth, smashing a liner (104.8 mph) to center to end the inning. He finished 1-for-4, with a strikeout looking at three straight fastballs (the last of which went right down the middle) in the ninth.
- The lack of production from the Yanks’ third baseman and catchers was a topic of conversation before the game, and it came to be in the second as Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells failed to come through with runners on first and second, both with lazy flies to left.
McMahon would grab a basehit to right to start the seventh, finishing the day 1-for-3.
Wells, who entered the game hitless in his last 10 at-bats, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.
- Chisholm, who reached on a fielder’s choice his second time up, stole his 16th base of the season and came around to score two pitches later. He finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Cody Bellinger went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a walk.
- Goldschmidt was hitless in four at-bats, including an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the third.
- Out of the Yanks’ bullpen: Paul Blackburn got six straight outs, including two strikeouts in the eighth. Camilo Doval made it four consecutive 1-2-3 innings for Yankee pitchers with two strikeouts in the ninth.
- In the bottom of the ninth, Max Schuemann walked on four pitches as a pinch-hitter for Jones to lead off the ninth against Aroldis Chapman,before Amed Rosario (as a pinch hitter for McMahon) walked on four pitches with one out. José Caballero (pinch-hitting for Wells) ended that run when he flied out to right with the tying run on base.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
The series continues on Saturday night with a 7:35 p.m. first pitch.
Will Warren (3.22 ERA, 1.197 WHIP in 64.1 innings) climbs the hill for the Yanks against lefty Ranger Suarez (3.38 ERA and 1.159 WHIP in 58.2 innings).