DJ LeMahieu led off the bottom of the first with a home run and the Yankees never looked back, defeating the Red Sox in the first game of a doubleheader, 9-2>> Box score

Five takeaways from Saturday's game one

1) LeMahieu wasted no time getting the Yankees on the board, taking a Chris Sale fastball to the opposite field to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. He got Sale in the fourth inning, as well, breaking the game open with a three-run homer to make it 7-1. The Yankees went on to score seven runs in the fourth inning. LeMahieu's two home runs give him 17 on the season.

2) Domingo German made just two mistakes, and they were the mistakes you're willing to live with as a pitcher, both solo home runs. Andrew Benintendi homered in the second, as did Jackie Bradley Jr. in the sixth, but the right-hander was otherwise brilliant. He allowed just those two runs on five hits over seven innings, while striking out seven. With the win, German moves to 14-2 and is 5-0 since returning from the injured list on July 3.

3) Breyvic Valera came into Saturday with just one game played for the Yankees in 2019, a 1-for-3 performance against the Rays on July 7. But the 27-year-old infielder delivered a two-out single to break a 1-1 tie in the fourth and give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

4) Brett Gardner took an 0-for-3 in his return from the injured list on Friday, but came through with a clutch, two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning to make it a 4-1 game. That extended the inning for LeMahieu's three-run homer, and after Aaron Judge hit a ground-rule double to make it 8-1, Sale's night mercifully came to a close (though not before he was ejected by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook on his way back to the dugout).

5) Edwin Encarnacion added three hits and a pair of RBI to the Yankee cause, as well. He's now reached base in each of the last seven games. In the eighth inning, however, he got drilled on the right wrist with a Josh Smith fastball and appeared to be in some discomfort, though he did remain in the game.

Highlights

A career-high 16 homers for DJ 🤖 pic.twitter.com/YeYXySEJvm
- New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 3, 2019

Breyvic
& Gardy
& DJ
& EE pic.twitter.com/JzU4N7dC8s
- New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 3, 2019

What's next

Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with Brian Johnson set to take the mound for the Red Sox. The Yankees have not yet announced a starting pitcher, though an opener is the likely scenario.

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