Happiness Is Sweeping the Red Sox

Happiness is sweeping a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox.

And that happened at Yankee Stadium II yesterday. And here's how it happened. Keep in mind that, again this season, when there's 2 games in 1 day, they are limited to 7 innings, extended only if tied at that point.

The afternoon saw the playing of a game that had been rained out earlier in the season. Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees, and cruised through the 1st 2 innings. With 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd, Luke Voit was hit with a pitch, Rougned Odor singled, Gary Sanchez lined out, and then Tyler Wade and Bronx native and new pickup Andrew Velazquez singled. This game the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Montgomery faltered in the 3rd inning, and only a baserunning blunder by the Sox kept it at 2-2. Monty sent the Sox down 1-2-3 in the 4th, but to start the 5th, he gave up a home run by Christian Vazquez. He couldn't finish the inning, and Aaron Boone brought in Albert Abreu, who did.

And it was Abreu who got the benefit of the bottom of the 5th. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. With 1 out, the Yankees drew 3 straight walks to load the bases: Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo. Voit singled home Gardner and Judge. Giancarlo Stanton pinch-hit for Odor, after the Red Sox made a pitching change, and singled home Gallo.

Jonathan Loaisiga got the Sox out 1-2-3 in the 6th. In the 7th, he ran into trouble, allowing 3 straight singles, to Kyle Schwarber, Vazquez and Alex Verdugo, to load the bases with nobody out. Knowing that he had to face the Sox over at least 16 more innings in the next 31 hours, and needed to conserve his bullpen, Boone left Loaisiga in.

He got Travis Shaw to line to left, and Gallo's throw forced Schwarber to hold up instead of scoring. Then Enrique Hernandez worked Loaisiga to a 3-and-0 count, and there was no place to put him. Loaisiga then bore down, and gave me a major Goose Gossage vibe: He struck Hernandez out, and then he struck Hunter Renfroe out to end it.

The Stadium erupted in cheers. God help us, but we do love beating The Scum.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 3. WP: Abreu, even though he threw only 1 pitch (2-0). SV: Loaisiga (5). LP: Garrett Whitlock (4-2).

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The nightcap was started by rookie Luis Gil, against Nathan Eovaldi, whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman stupidly let get away. But Voit took Eovaldi deep in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and Stanton did the same in the 4th.

A 2-0 lead isn't much against the Red Sox -- more so at Fenway Park than in The Bronx -- but Gil made it stand up. The 23-year-old Dominican has now pitched 15 2/3rds innings in the major leagues, all for the Yankees since August 3, and he has not allowed a run, earned or otherwise. His ERA is 0.00. His ERA+ is infinite. His WHIP is 1.021. What a find for a team that has seen 4 of its 5 intended starters go down with either injury or COVID this season.

He ran into trouble in the 5th inning, and Boone brought Wandy Peralta in to pitch. Not that long ago, the Yankees traded Mike Tauchman to the San Francisco Giants to get Peralta, and Tauchman was hitting very well, and the Yankees really could have used him in the outfield, and Peralta was an inconsistent pitcher, and it looked like Cashman had blown it again. Since then Peralta has gotten his act together, and Tauchman has dropped off. The Giants just sent him down to Triple-A, after designating him for assignment and no team claimed him off waivers.

Peralta ended the Boston threat in the 5th. In the 6th, he got into trouble. Gil, though righthanded instead of lefthanded, reminds me of Ron Guidry, because he's thin but strong, and doesn't seem to care about pressure. Peralta, though fat, reminded me of Guidry last night, because, also a lefty, he faced a comebacker by Bobby Dalbec, ran to his right, spun, and threw him out to end the inning, a play I saw Guidry make a few times.

Chad Green made his 2nd appearance since blowing the Field of Dreams game last Thursday night, and for the 2nd time in a row, he was masterful, getting a popup, a strikeout and a groundout in the 7th, to end the game and complete the sweep.

Yankees 2, Red Sox 0. WP: Peralta (4-2, even though Gil got 14 of the 21 outs). SV: Green (5). LP: Eovaldi (10-8).

At one point, the Yankees were 10 1/2 games behind the Red Sox, and out of the Playoff hunt. Now, the Yankees are tied with the Red Sox, ahead of them on percentage points due to having 2 games in hand. If the current standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees will travel to Oakland to face the Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game, and the Red Sox will miss the Playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the pathetic Baltimore Orioles last night, so the Yankees remain 5 games behind them in the AL Eastern Division.

The Yankees gained 9 games on the Red Sox in 23 days, going 17-5 to The Scum's 8-14. So it's another Red Sox choke, combined with another Yankee surge. If the Yankees can complete the sweep of the 3-game series today, it won't quite be as effective as the 4-game "Boston Massacre" sweep in September 1978, or the 5-game sweep in August 2006 -- especially since both of those were at Fenway -- but it will sure feel good.

Getting that sweep won't be easy: Andrew Heaney is scheduled to start, and he has been shaky for the Yankees, including pitching poorly in his last start, the Field of Dreams game. Nick Pivetta starts for the Sox.

But sweeping the Sox 3 straight? That would be happiness.