4 Takeaways From A Pressure-Packed Red Sox-Yankees Clash In The Bronx

Yankee Stadium (New York) – In the build-up to Sunday’s first pitch, Aaron Boone didn’t know how the Yankees would get through the game. It was an exhausting and pressure-packed weekend in the Bronx, featuring a four-game series between the Red Sox and Yankees with everything on the line. It culminated with the division rivals playing three games in two days following Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday afternoon’s matinée. There are quick turnarounds, and then there’s playing 36 innings of baseball in 45 hours. As if the schedule wasn’t intense enough, the Yankees and Red Sox entered the rivalry series just two games apart in the AL East. New York owned the edge, with Boston breathing down its neck. The rivals entered Sunday’s finale with the season series tied 6-6. The winner of Sunday’s game earned home-field advantage in a potential wild-card series between the Yankees and Red Sox. The stakes had never been higher. For both squads dreaming about October, Sunday’s finale was the biggest game of the season thus far. Here are four takeaways from a dramatic weekend at Yankee Stadium: The Yankees didn’t mess around on Sunday. They embarrassed the Red Sox in a 16-1 blowout win that solidified their position with home-field advantage should they meet again in a wild-card series to kick off the playoffs in October. The Yankees created real distance in the standings, increasing their lead to four games over the Red Sox – which is really five games, given the tiebreaker implications. Boone credited his players for coming into the finale with “a pep in our step,” especially after Saturday’s day/night doubleheader. New York’s skipper was also working with a taxed bullpen, so he needed his starting pitcher to dig deep on Sunday. Right-hander Will Warren answered the call. The 27-year-old stepped up and pitched a shutout into the eighth inning. After the Yankees lineup broke out for an offensive performance that more closely resembled an NFL score, the club only needed one other pitcher, left-hander Tim Hill, to finish the game. “I think I was fearless in the zone,” said Warren, who struck out seven Red Sox hitters. Boone termed Sunday afternoon the best performance of Warren’s career, and the righty agreed. Before the series finale, Boone and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy both tried to downplay the importance of winning the home-field edge. Boone said that, of course, he’d prefer to have it, but he also believes that oftentimes the industry tends to “overstate the venue.” The Yankees skipper reiterated that his club plays fantastic on the road, and he’s right. The Bombers actually have a better record on the road (41-28, .594) than they do at home (37-31, .544) this year. The same should be said about the Red Sox, who are much better on the road (40-30, .571) than they are at home (34-32, .515). Tracy said he didn’t want his players stepping on the field Sunday being inundated with the pressure to win for the tiebreaker advantage. He told his clubhouse to treat the finale like any other game and essentially forget about the stakes at hand. Of course, telling them that is one thing. Players actually believing it and moving on from those thoughts, though, is another. This was a weekend to forget for the Red Sox, but they’re refusing to let go. Center fielder Cedanne Rafaela’s non-catch in the fifth inning Sunday rattled Boston to the point where the team let it become the reason for its demise. In a tight, scoreless game, Rafaela attempted a sliding catch on a line drive off the bat of Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm, but umpires on the field ruled that he didn’t actually catch the ball; he trapped it. The Red Sox challenged the call, and after an official replay review, the call stood. Chisholm was awarded a single, and the Yankees had runners on first and second with nobody out. Red Sox southpaw Ranger Suarez, who had started to settle in by the fourth inning, was thrown off by the call. He promptly allowed three of his next four batters to reach base, including a massive three-run home run to outfielder Heliot Ramos that capped a five-run rally for the Yankees. Rafaela, meanwhile, was still stewing over the non-catch in center field. He paced back and forth, agitated, and when he made a fair catch on a routine fly ball later in the same inning, he made a show of dropping it into his glove to emphasize that he caught it. “I didn’t even have to watch it,” Rafaela said postgame. “I know I made the catch. I know when a ball drops and a ball don’t drop. And I know I made the catch.” Added Suarez: “Everybody was surprised by that call. That was a game-changing play.” Boston’s body language and energy changed completely after that play. A five-run deficit was not insurmountable with four innings still left to play — especially given the troubling state of affairs in the Yankees bullpen. But the Red Sox gave up. Later in the game, they even allowed Chisholm to steal second and third without a throw and no one covered the base each time. The team’s deflated attitude was compounded by its several sloppy plays on defense throughout the series in the Bronx, including three defensive errors in Saturday’s doubleheader. Rafaela’s non-catch was a controversial call, no doubt. That it wasn’t overturned was frustrating, of course. But the Red Sox have to be able to shake it off, move on, and realize there’s still a game to play with everything on the line. Instead, later in Sunday’s series finale, Rafaela didn’t even bother to run to first on a ground ball he hit to second. It took nearly four weeks and a left-handed starter on the mound, but it finally happened. On Sunday, Ramos slugged his first home run since being traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Yankees, and it was no cheapie either. Ramos took Suarez deep for a three-run home run in the fifth inning of the series finale and broke the game open for New York. “I was super emotional. I’m an emotional guy,” Ramos said. “I needed this. I’ve been working hard in the cages trying to figure it out, trying to get my groove back. … Just knowing that I belong here. I know I can do it on the big stage. I can help this team. That’s all I want to show.” Ramos, who grew up idolizing former Yankees legends Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams, was incredibly fired up to get the monkey off his back after 20 unbearable games without a home run in his new pinstripes. Ramos connected on a 75 mph curveball from Suarez, and it left his bat at 107 mph before landing 416 feet away in left field. He all but flew around the bases in what must have been the fastest home-run trot of his career. “Heliot’s home run was massive,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought he was going to do a cartwheel around third.” Given the stakes of Sunday’s finale, and the pressure to deliver but continuing to struggle since being traded, the unbridled joy that carried Ramos into the Yankees dugout was completely justified. Moments like that are why Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acquired him from the Giants. It was just bad timing as New York faced a steady stream of right-handers for three weeks, until the Red Sox came to town this weekend and put three left-handed starters on the mound. Ramos reached base seven times, including four on Sunday, against Boston. The Yankees offense is much more dominant with a slugging Ramos who’s recaptured his rhythm at the plate. While both division rivals were publicly understating the importance of their clash in the Bronx, their transactions and urgency in bringing back key players gave away their true feelings. The Red Sox activated outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop Trevor Story from the injured list on Sunday, and both players instantly got back in the swing of things, which will be crucial to Boston’s stretch run. Anthony ripped a leadoff double to right field in his first at-bat since May 4. He went 2-for-4 on the day. Story, too, went 2-for-3 with a run scored after missing 93 games with sports hernia surgery. Red Sox fans were upset that designated hitter Mickey Gasper was sent down to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Roman and Story. That’s an understandable reaction, since Gasper was batting .423 with a 1.115 OPS and five home runs, 12 RBI and nine walks in 11 games since getting called up on Aug. 17. Gasper helped the Red Sox keep their momentum going to continue their incredible turnaround since sweeping the Yankees at home on June 25. “It’s not like heroes are coming back,” Story said before their 16-1 loss on Sunday. “We’re not looking at it that way. These guys have put in the work and done the things and performed on the field to get us to where we’re at, and we’re just coming in to help that.” The Yankees activated left-hander Max Fried from the injured list for Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader. He spent the minimum 15 days on the IL with recurring elbow inflammation, and he picked up where he left off. Fried allowed one earned run on three hits against Boston and struck out four in an abbreviated outing of 3 ⅔ innings pitched while he ramps back up from the two-week layoff. Fried has a 2.80 ERA in 90 innings and 16 starts this season. Speaking of Yankees reinforcements, outfielder Aaron Judge is inching closer to his much-anticipated return from a fractured rib. The slugger has been on the IL since the end of May, and he’s joining the Yankees on their road trip against the Angels and Padres this week to ramp up his rehab under the medical staff’s supervision. Judge is expected to see velocity sometime soon, and Boone said he’s getting more “entrenched” in his ramp-up. Judge and club officials have been pleased with his progress so far, which has included running and hitting off a tee, though a return date has not yet been announced by the Yankees.