The Yankees found some late-inning magic as they beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4, on Friday night.
Here are the takeaways...
- Well, at least one Aaron went yard tonight.
- Down 1-0 in the third inning, Aaron Hicks took Boston's starter Rich Hill deep to left center field to tie the game. In the fifth inning, Hicks was at it again, singling to left field to drive in Isiah Kiner-Falefa to make it 2-1, Yanks. Gleyber Torres brought home two more on a double that gave New York a three-run lead.
- After giving up a solo shot to Tommy Pham in the first inning, Gerrit Cole was cruising until the sixth inning. With one out, Enrique Hernandez doubled, Rafael Devers walked and after Cole got Pham swinging, he gave up a three-run home run to Alex Verdugo that knotted the game up at four apiece.
- Cole struck out J.D. Martinez to end the inning and then immediately gave home plate umpire Brian Knight an earful before getting ejected from the game. Cole was upset because on the pitch right before Verdugo's home run, Cole thought he had strike three on a pitch on the outside corner. Had the pitch, which was correctly called a ball, been called a strike, the inning would’ve been over.
- Following Cole’s ejection, manager Aaron Boone got himself ejected as well, sticking up for his pitcher. Boone has now been ejected nine times this season which is the most by a manager since Bobby Cox got tossed 10 times in 2007.
- Cole’s night was likely done anyway before the ejection as he had thrown 103 pitches (62 strikes) over six innings. He gave up four runs on five hits, two walks and struck out eight.
- Still tied going into the eighth inning, pinch-hitter Harrison Bader replaced Oswaldo Cabrera and subsequently walked on four pitches with two outs. The newest Yankee has already made his presence known during his short stint with the team and did it again, stealing second base and advancing to third base on a throwing error by reliever Matt Strahm.
- Then, down in the count 1-2, Jose Trevino ripped a single up the middle that scored Bader and gave the Yanks a 5-4 lead.
- As for Aaron Judge? His quest to tie Roger Maris’ AL home run record will have to wait another day as the slugger went 1-for-4 with a well-struck single and two strikeouts.