Dateline: Browns Chapel
On a hot spring morning the Red Sox ended their road trip at the Yankees at Hook Road. Ticket sold briskly as the game pitted the division leading Red Sox against the second place Yankees. The Yankees starter shut down the Sox in the first. Michael F., given the start due to an injury to Garrett pitching hand, did well as he struck out the side. The Yankees slipped across two runs on some walks. After one it was 2-0 Yanks.
The Yankees starter continued to shut down the Red Sox. In the bottom of the second, Michael threw heat and struck out two three more Yankees for a total of six strikeouts in two innings. The Yankees managed to squeeze another run home and after two it was 3-0 Yankees.
The Red Sox came alive in the third on a series of walks to score TJ, Kyle, Chris, and Matt. Chris walked to the mound in his first appearance of the year and had some minor control problems. He settled down and struck out two, but sadly the Yankees had scored four as well. After three, it was 7-4 Yankees. Red Sox faithful remained hopeful for another comeback.
The Red Sox went down in order in the fourth and Matt held the Yankees on three quick strikeouts. After four it was 7-4 and, due to time constraints, it was decided the fifth would be the final inning. The Red Sox were down to their last three outs. Jared led off with a walk, Justin walked to move Jared to second, Chris walked to load the bases with no outs. Matt walked to score Jared and cut the lead to two. Corey walked to score Justin. Chris scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Matt then stole third and on the overthrow to left field scored the go-ahead run. The Red Sox rejoiced as they took an 8-7 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, it was up to the Yankees to try to score two. Matt struck out the leadoff hitter but then walked to the next two. The runner on second stole home and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Matt then struck out the next batter to get the second out. The next batter was hit by a pitch and the Yankees had runners on first and second. Another wild pitch moved the go-ahead run to third and then another wild pitch brought in the winning run.
Coach Grossman was drinking a lot of water after the game due to the heat and said “What a game! You can’t win them all. I really think our bats will come alive soon. Wouldn’t surprise me if we tied the O’s (a pretty good team) at a score of 5-5.” Coach Goldstein said “It was a great game and a tough loss. I liked the fielding and are catchers are doing a great job.”
