The Red Sox just got completely outplayed and outclassed in a disappointing series loss to the Yankees, capping it off with an ugly 16-1 drubbing on Sunday. That brutal game, where infielder Andruw Monasterio had to throw the ninth inning, was the frustrating cherry on a bummer sundae. The Yankees took three out of four games in the Bronx, preventing Boston from securing the season tiebreaker and leaping their rival in the standings. Ouch.
Yankees Hold Their Ground in the Wild Card
This series was a big one, and it certainly solidified the current AL East pecking order, at least for now. While the AL East-leading Rays swept the Padres this weekend, pushing their division lead to 4.5 games over New York, the Yankees are sitting atop the wild-card race. That’s a strong position, especially since they have the second-best record in the American League overall. They’re now four games clear of Boston, who are themselves five games safe of the next-closest club in the wild-card chase. There’s still a month or so of games to play, but the playoff picture is definitely coming into focus. This weekend’s result makes a Yankees-Red Sox wild-card rematch a very, very likely outcome, and it’s looking pretty good for New York right now.
Rotation Shakes Up For Both Sides
Pitching was a big storyline. Cam Schlittler has been absolutely dealing, elevating himself from a nice story to a world-beater last postseason with a masterful, eight-inning, 12-strikeout performance against the Red Sox. Less than a year later, this Massachusetts kid is now a co-front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award alongside Toronto’s Dylan Cease. He reinforced his awards case on Friday against his boyhood team, throwing six brilliant shutout innings in a nailbiting 1-0 Boston victory. He’s top of the heap right now and clearly pushes New York’s rotation past Boston’s, at least on paper. A three-game showdown between these teams would likely feature Schlittler, Max Fried, and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Fried, though, is an X-factor, having navigated elbow discomfort all season. He just returned from his latest IL stint, working 3 ⅔ innings on just 63 pitches Saturday. Can he get back to his best before October? That’s a huge September storyline. Meanwhile, Boston’s rotation, which has been their backbone, suddenly looks shaky. Ranger Suárez was abysmal on Sunday, and the 36-year-old Sonny Gray is having his next start skipped. That’s not what you want to see when the games mean this much.
The Yankees have a couple more games with the Red Sox left in the season, and Boston is surely looking to turn things around. They’ve got to find some stability on the mound and avoid any more of those 16-1 shockers if they want to solidify their spot in the wild-card race.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply