About Last Night: Red Sox 11, Yankees 6

by Tamar Chalker

July 11, 2022

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After a tough, extra-inning loss on Saturday night, the Yankees needed a win to take the series. They looked like they were on track to do so in the early innings, jumping out to a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, really bad defense sunk the Yankees in the late innings and the Red Sox took the 11-6 win.

Quick Stats:

• Jameson Taillon lasted five innings and gave up six runs on seven hits, a walk, and three homers.

• Aroldis Chapman gave up one run on one "hit" and two walks. He was the unfortunate beneficiary of some horrid defense and ended up with the loss.

• Hirokazu Sawamura got the win for Boston, throwing 2 innings of relief and not allowing a Yankee on base. He struck out two.

• Matt Carpenter went 2-3 with a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.

• Trevor Story went 2-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs.

Big Story:

The Yankees jumped out to a quick lead on a two-run homer by Giancarlo Stanton in the first. They added a couple more runs in the second, but the Red Sox started chipping away. At first, New York responded to the Boston threat, but when Taillon fell apart in the fifth, the game was tied 6-6.

The Yankees still had a chance to take this game, but it was pretty clear at what point the wheels fell off the wagon. Two bad plays (neither errors, however) by DJ LeMahieu in the sixth let the Red Sox get their first lead of the night. IKF and Albert Abreu each picked up errors in the seventh, and at that moment, the Red Sox had started to run away with the game.

Player(s) of the Game:

Hirokazu Sawamura kept the Yankees' bats quiet at a crucial part of the game and he picked up the win in the process.

Better to Forget :

The second half of this game. Actually, forgetting seemed to be the problem, as the Yankees appeared to forget some baseball basics in the later innings.

My Take:

What was DJ LeMahieu thinking in the 6th? Judge should have called him off and taken the ball. He could have made the play, whereas DJ LeMahieu was running back and ended up botching the play. The last thing you need with Aroldis Chapman on the mound is a baserunner and no outs, yet that play clearly got into his head. His loading the bases was about as predictable as a Joey Gallo strikeout.

Chapman actually seemed to find his groove after the bases got loaded. He got lucky with a strikeout by Bobby Dalbec, but DJ wasn't done. Another ball was hit between the infield and outfield and again DJ called for the ball and again he failed to make the play. The ball ricocheted to Aaron Hicks, who got the ball into second for the out, but a run scored and the Red Sox took the lead.

This is basic baseball - the outfield calls off the infield. They have the better vantage point, yet LeMahieu called off the outfield twice and both times managed to lose track of the ball in the process. Still, he managed to avoid picking up errors for either of these plays. IKF and Abreu's errors in the seventh seemed to kill any chance of a Yankees comeback.

That all being said, in the grand scheme of things, this shouldn't be an important game. the Yankees are still far and away ahead of the Red Sox and the rest of the AL East. They are a very good team on the verge of great, this game won't change that. Hopefully, they shake off whatever bit of funk they have on their day off today and get back to work on Tuesday.

Next Up:

The Yankees head back to the Bronx, with a day off today. They will be back on the field on Tuesday when they host the Reds. Gerrit Cole will start for New York. He's coming off a win against the Red Sox, but one where he struggled some and gave up five runs. Cincinnati will send rookie Graham Ashcraft to the mound. He is 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 9 starts. He has 29 Ks in 49.2 innings. First pitch is Tuesday at 7:05 pm.