Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts shown here in a game earlier this season at Fenway Park hit a homerun in the Red Sox loss on Sunday in London to the Yankees. Photo courtesy of Delaney Gardner
The New York Yankees used a nine run seventh inning and homered in their 31st straight game Sunday in London, finishing off a two game weekend sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 12-8 win at London Stadium in England.
Boston (44-40) took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Xander Bogaerts hit a two run homer, and JD Martinez and Christian Vazquez added solo shots to give the Sox a solid start. The Red Sox hit three homers in the first inning of a game for the first time since August 4, 1979. New York (54-28) got two runs back in the second on a fielders choice grounder by Gio Urshela, and a Brett Gardner RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2.
After a solid start by Eduardo Rodriguez who threw a season high 115 pitches, Boston would go to their bullpen which has been troublesome all year long. The Yankees took advantage of that with the seventh inning explosion. Aaron Hicks doubled in DJ LeMahieu, and then Gary Sanchez hit a two run single to give New York their first lead of the day 5-4. Urshela added a two run single, and then LeMahieu doubled in a pair before Hicks drove in another with a sacrifice fly to make it 10-4. LeMahieu extended his hitting streak in the inning to 14 games. Sanchez hit a grounder to first that was misplayed by Boston first baseman Michael Chavis to score another run to cap off the inning. Didi Gregorius hit a leadoff solo homer in the eighth inning to extend the homer streak for the Yankees. Vasquez singled in a pair in the bottom of the eighth for the first Sox runs since the first inning. Eduardo Nunez also doubled in a run, and Sam Travis hit an RBI single in the four run frame. Boston for the second straight game after being down 11 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday brought the tying run to the plate when Devers came up with the bases loaded and two outs. New York reliever Zak Britton though was able to retire Devers on a grounder to first base. Marco Hernandez led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman, but Chapman then struck out Martinez, Chavis, and Vasquez consecutively all swinging.
Marcus Walden (6-1) took the loss in relief of Rodriguez not retiring any of the five hitters he faced in the seventh inning allowing four runs on three hits. Rodriguez had gone 5.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits, with four walks and five strikeouts. Martinez had three hits to lead the Sox offense, while Vasquez and Jackie Bradley Jr. had two each. LeMahieu had three hits for the Yankees, while Hicks, Gregorius, and Gardner had two a piece. Adam Ottavino (3-2) won in relief with a perfect sixth inning. Stephen Tarpley made his first ever start and only went an inning allowing four runs on four hits. Luis Cessa, Ottavino, Kahnle, Britton, and Chapman each fired scoreless baseball out of the bullpen. The 50 runs combined in the two games was the most between the teams in a pair of contests since 1933 and 2009 when they combined for 46 runs.
Boston will begin a three game series at Toronto against the Blue Jays Tuesday night at 7:07 p.m. David Price will toe the rubber for the Red Sox in the opener. The Red Sox sit a season high 11 games behind the first place Yankees.
