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HOT AND COLD AND
HOT AND OUT ... July 22, 2021 ... Down to their final out, the Red Sox tied it at 3 in the ninth on a clutch two-run double to left-center from Kiké Hernández that scored Alex Verdugo and Jarren Duran. The Yankees responded in the 10th, as Brett Gardner drove in Tyler Wade on a sacrifice fly. Rafael Devers scurried home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame to knot it at for each. Xander Bogaerts walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and third on yet another, and came home on a sacrifice fly from Hunter Renfroe that sealed it and sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy. Both teams took advantage of the runner at second in extras, and the Red Sox had the last laugh as All-Star closer Matt Barnes picked up the win. Yankees reliever Brooks Kriske’s four wild pitches in one inning tied a Major League regular-season record. For the Red Sox, it was Verdugo, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and was sharp on the base paths, and Hernández for his late-game moxie. Without Verdugo’s hustle, the Red Sox wouldn’t have tied the game up in the seventh and given themselves a chance. Without Hernández’s hit, they wouldn’t have gotten to extras. Red Sox starter Tanner Houck was electric to start the night, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced and striking out six of them. He kept the Yankees guessing and relied heavily on his slider. His command was terrific through three, but walking Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton to start the fourth proved costly. They both advanced on a passed ball, Gleyber Torres plated Gardner on a grounder to shortstop, and the Yankees took a 1-0 edge. Houck settled back into a rhythm in the fifth, registering another strikeout before allowing a rain-induced infield single where the ball skipped along the grass and was essentially unplayable. Then came the 55-minute rain delay, and Houck didn’t return. He finished with eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits. The Sox tied the game at 1 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Hernández that plated Verdugo. Verdugo, who legged out an infield single and hustled to third on a hit moments prior, sprinted home and slid his left hand in just before Rob Brantly could slap on the tag. Moments later, the Red Sox immediately let the Yankees seize momentum once again. New York threw Bobby Dalbec out at home, then plated two runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI single from Giancarlo Stanton and a sacrifice fly from Gleyber Torres. Adam Ottavino walked the first two hitters, Hernández misplayed a ball in center, and the Yankees were effective playing small ball. When the Yankees scored again, though, so too did the Red Sox, and again in the 10th. Every time New York surged in front, the Sox responded. |
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