The Red Sox just couldn’t hang with the Yankees, dropping Game 2 of their doubleheader 9-2 in the Bronx. This wasn’t just a loss, it was a gut punch, especially after what went down in the eighth inning, which saw the Yankees explode for five runs to truly put the game out of reach.
Bello’s Rollercoaster Ride and a Fleeting Spark
Right out of the gate, it was a tough scene. Opener Alec Gamboa got pulled in the second inning, handing the ball to Brayan Bello with a runner on. The Sox tried to kickstart things early, just like in Game 1, when Nick Sogard crushed a solo homer in the top of the third. That was Sogard’s third hit in his last four at-bats, a real bright spot. But then Bello hit the skids in the same inning, giving up three hits, a walk, a hit batsman, a sac fly, a stolen base, and an error. Suddenly, three earned runs were on the board for the Yankees. He pulled it back, though, with a smooth nine-pitch fourth inning and a 1-2-3 fifth, making you wonder which Bello showed up. The offense tried to rally in the sixth, getting a walk and a hit-by-pitch with no outs, even forcing a pitching change. But then, boom, two strikeouts in a row ended that dream real quick. Bello’s sixth was also rocky, with two Yankee singles and a double steal, followed by a sac fly that scored another run before Chad Tracy finally decided enough was enough and brought in Raymond Burgos.
The Eighth Inning Meltdown Was Ugly
Between Sogard’s third-inning blast and Abreu’s eighth-inning double, the bats went totally silent. Abreu’s double seemed to light a fuse, though, with Willson Contreras following it up with a triple, but he was left stranded, just a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been. Then came the bottom of the eighth, and it was a total nightmare. A pop fly dropped right between Sogard and Abreu for an embarrassing defensive gaffe. Immediately after, Burgos didn’t cover first base, leaving Contreras, who had fielded the ground ball, with absolutely nowhere to throw. The bases loaded up, and then the Yankees just poured it on, scoring several runs on single after single after single. The bases loaded a second time in the inning, and the Yankees batted around, even sending Bellinger to the plate twice in that monstrous eighth. Five runs scored in the inning, all on singles, and all on Burgos. Every single spot in the Yankees’ batting order scored a run on the night. It just was not the Red Sox’s night at all.
This kind of sloppy performance hurts, especially when the Yankees just split the doubleheader to even up the season series. You gotta clean up those defensive errors and get consistent pitching if you want to hang in there. You know the squad is looking at the next game as a chance to get back at ’em and prove this was just a blip. Let’s see if they can tighten things up when they get back on the field.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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