Yanks Overcome Devers to Beat Sox

My concern following the Yankees' 16-0 demolition of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night was that they had used up so many hits and runs that night that they wouldn't be able to beat the Boston Red Sox in this 4-game series in Boston.

So far, my concern has not come true. Last night, in the series opener, the Yankees scored 5 runs in the top of the 3rd. It began when Joey Gallo drew a leadoff walk. Yes, Joey Gallo. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. DJ LeMahieu grounded out, but Gallo advanced to 2nd. Gleyber Torres singled him over to 3rd, then stole 2nd. Matt Carpenter popped up, and Giancarlo Stanton drew a walk to load the bases. Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam. Aaron Hicks made it back-to-back home runs. The Yankees led 5-0.

That should have been enough for an ace pitcher, but Gerrit Cole did not pitch like an ace. He went 6 innings, allowing 5 runs. This included 2 home runs by Rafael Devers.

With 2 outs in the top of the 5th, with the score 5-2 New York, Hicks tripled. Jose Trevino popped up. It should have been caught by 2nd baseman Trevor Story. Instead, he lost track of it, and let it drop. Since it never touched his glove, it was counted as a hit instead of an error, so it was an RBI double. That made it 6-2 Yankees.

But in the bottom of the 5th, Devers' 2nd home run made it 6-5. Cole settled down, and pitched a 1-2-3 6th, then was taken out. Wandy Peralta pitched a perfect 7th, and got the 1st out in the 8th. So why replace him at that point? Michael King finished the 8th with no damage. And Clay Holmes pitched a 1-2-3 9th.

Yankees 6, Red Sox 5. It's the Yankees' 60th win of the season, putting them on a pace for a record 117. More important, it's a win over The Scum. WP: Cole (8-2). SV: Holmes (16). LP: Josh Winckowski (3-3).

The Yankees now lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 14 1/2 games, the Red Sox by 15, and the Toronto Blue Jays by 15 1/2.

The series continues tonight. Don't bother looking for this game on YES, or Channel 11, or ESPN, or Fox, or TBS. It's only on Amazon Prime. In other words, "Pay-Pay-TV." In other words, it's John & Suzyn on the radio tonight. Nestor Cortes starts against Connor Seabold.

Who? He's already 26, from Southern California, but this will be only his 4th major league appearance, all starts. He's 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA and a 1.971 WHIP. He's a "Quadruple-A player." So, naturally, pitching against the Yankees at Fenway Park, he's going to pitch the game of his life, probably with help from the umpires, or some form of internal cheating. We know the Red Sox.

Or maybe he'll pitch the game of his life, and the Yankees will win, anyway. Or maybe the Yankees will turn Fenway into a pinball machine again, and treat him like the enemy that, by dint of wearing that uniform, he is. Come on you Bombers!