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AARON JUDGE & LUKE VOIT |
THE BEST RED SOX TEAM EVAH! ...
The Yankees clinch home field
for the wild card game
September 28,
2018 ...
The Yankees cleared the Fenway fences four times to tie the major
league single-season home run record, clinching home-field advantage
for the upcoming one-game playoff against Oakland with a 11-6 victory
over the the
Red Sox. The win in the opener
of the three-game series settled the AL's last remaining postseason question
with two games to go. The Yankees will host the Athletics on for the right to
play the Red Sox in the divisional round.
The Red Sox, who clinched the best record in baseball with
a franchise-record 107 wins, were hoping to make things difficult for their
archrivals by forcing the winner of the wild-card game to fly cross-country next
week.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge hit his first homer
since coming off the disabled list and Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit
also homered to give the Yankees 264 home runs for the season. That matches the
mark set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.
J.A. Happ (17-6) pitched three perfect innings and allowed
just one hit through five. Staked to an 8-0 lead, he loaded the bases in the
sixth for Steve Pearce's grand slam but got Rafael Devers on a groundout to end
the inning. In all, Happ allowed four runs on four hits and two walks, striking
out seven in six innings. He would be on regular rest for the wild-card game.
Sanchez homered to lead off the third, just his second
homer and fourth hit of any kind in two weeks. Hicks hit a three-run shot in New
York's six-run fourth. Voit hit a solo shot in the seventh and Judge hit his
27th of the year in the eighth to make it 11-4.
The Sox scored once and loaded the bases in the bottom of
the eighth against Dellin Betances, but Eduardo Nunez lined out to second to end
it. The Red Sox loaded the bases in the ninth before Zach Britton walked Xander
Bogaerts to score a run and cut the deficit to 11-6. But Pearce grounded out on
a 3-2 pitch to third base to end it, giving the Yankees their 99th win.
Red Sox left-hander Brian Johnson (4-5) allowed two runs in
three innings and left with a 2-0 deficit. William Cuevas came out to start the
fourth and gave up six runs on six hits and a walk while getting just one out. |
