Gardy Goes Yardy for Slam Party, Wins Yanks-Sox Classic

So the Yankees went for a sweep of their brief 2-game home series with the Boston Red Sox last night, and for most of the night, it didn't look like it was going to happen.

Cliche Alert: Looks can be deceiving. As The Eagles -- the Los Angeles rock band, not the Philadelphia football team -- put it, You can't hide your lyin' eyes. This game turned out to be yet another Yanks vs. Sox classic.

J.A. Happ didn't have good stuff, allowing J.D. Martinez -- who seems to be aiming to replace David Ortiz as the resident Yankee Killer at Fenway Park -- hit a long home run in the 1st inning. In the 2nd, Happ allowed a single to Mitch Moreland and got taken deep by Christian Vazquez. Given the Yankees' struggles of late, even the previous night's 8-0 can of whupass didn't encourage a comeback from 3-0 down.

But, as they say in English soccer, Three-nil, and they fucked it up!

It took a while, as the Yankees once again struggled against former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. But, Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Luke Voit drew a walk to lead off the 4th. Gleyber Torres reached on error (those can kill you, too), and Clint Frazier continued his renaissance with a double that got Voit that made it 3-1 Boston.

Happ settled down, and pitched into the top of the 7th, when he was relieved by Tommy Kahnle. In the bottom of the 7th, Red Sox manager Alex Cora pulled a "Joe Girardi's Binder" move, taking Eovaldi out for Brandon Workman. Big mistake: Frazier led off with a single, Mike Tauchman drew a walk, Gio Urshela struck out, and then Austin Romine walked to load the bases.

Up came Brett Gardner, the last remaining player who played home games at the old Yankee Stadium, and, along with CC Sabathia, 1 of the last 2 remaining Yankees to have played on a Worle Series winner. Cora brought Ryan Brasier in to face him. Another Girardi-Binder-type mistake: Gardy hit a screaming liner into the right-center field seats. It might have been a double, or even a long out, in any other ballpark. But in Yankee Stadium II, it was a grand slam home run, the 100th homer of his career. And it gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead.

Adam Ottavino loaded the bases in the 8th, but worked out of the jam. Aroldis Chapman decided not to play games in the 9th, and got the Sox out 1-2-3.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 3. WP: Kahnle (1-0). SV: Chapman (3). LP: Workman (0-1).

Yes, we swept The Scum. We needed that. We really, really needed that.

Tonight, the Kansas City Royals come in for a 4-game series. Then, the Yankees are off to the Pacific Coast.