Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

 

There are wins and then there are epic wins, and then there was last night's game. Boston, for the first time this season, completed a home sweep. In addition, they won four straight games for the first time this year. The Red Sox earn the First Home Sweep and First Four-Game Win Streak trophy. That it was all against the New York fucking Yankees just makes it all the sweeter. 

And what a game it was! Sonny Gray had a no-hitter going for 7⅓ innings. He struck out nine Yankee batters and walked only one before finally giving up a single in the eighth on his 97th pitch of the night. Caleb Durbin hit a two-run single in the fourth, which was all the scoring the Sox would need until Chapman gave up two runs in the ninth because that's apparently what he does now. With a potential sweep and a win streak on the line, the game went into extra innings, tied 2-2.

It seemed like it was all over when Slaten gave up two runs in the top of the tenth. It was a good run, Boston, you came this close to sweeping the Yanks. But then, surprisingly, the Red Sox showed some determination for once and scored some clutch runs. The first batter, Anthony Seigler, singled and brought home ghost runner Durbin. Then pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida doubled, advancing the runner from first to third. Tsung-Che Cheng hit a sac fly, bringing the runner home from third and tying the game, 4-4. And finally, Jarren Duran hit the game-winning, walk-off single, which brought Yoshida home from third.

Boston wins, 5-4, and sweeps New York in four. Extra bonus points (as if all this weren't already good enough): New York entered the series with a two-game lead over Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East. After last night, they lost first place and are one game behind the Rays. They're 3-7 in their last ten and are currently on a four-game losing skid. The Red Sox now hold a 5-4 season record against New York.   

Sure, the Sox (36-46) are still in last place and 12½ back in the standings. But at this point, I'd rather see New York lose than Boston win. Yankees suck.

Will Fenway stay friendly for this week's series against the Washington Nats (43-43)? Tonight, Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83) will start for Boston. Over his career, Suarez has owned the Nats, and he has more wins against them (8) than any other team in MLB. Last year, the last time he faced Washington, he struck out 11 batters in seven shut-out innings on August 24. He'll be up against Miles Mikolas, a 2-6 pitcher with a 5.24 ERA.

Last June, the Red Sox swept the Yankees in Fenway and then went on a disastrous 3-6 West Coast road trip, culminating in five straight losses followed by a home loss to the Jays. But once they got that bad juju out of their system, the team's fortunes really reversed, and included a 10-game win streak in early July. Let's hope this year's June sweep of the Yankees avoids the immediate aftermath of last year, but jump starts a season turnaround like in 2025.