Wilyer Abreu wasted absolutely no time, smashing his twenty-third home run right in the first inning against the Yankees, a career high that immediately put the Sox up. Talk about a statement! Meanwhile, on the mound, Jake Bennett was just dealing, going 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first and doing it again in the second. He was locked in, keeping the Yankees totally off-balance and off the scoreboard.
Bennett’s Masterclass and Rodon’s implosion
Bennett threw a fantastic game, period. He went a solid 6 innings, giving up only 3 hits, walking zero batters, and punching out 7. That’s a performance you build a win on! On the flip side, Carlos Rodon, who’d been pretty steady after Abreu’s bomb, completely unraveled in the fifth inning. It started with a grueling at-bat to Adley Rutschman, then a mini-meltdown after a passed ball scored Rutschman, followed by a walk and a hit-by-pitch. The Sox got into Rodon’s head, tilting him and forcing the Yankees into their bullpen early with the bases loaded. While they only tacked on an insurance run to make it 2-0, that early bullpen call could be a massive factor for Game 2 of the doubleheader tonight.
Yankees Bullpen Burned Early, Rutschman’s Gritty Comeback
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was forced to use four pitchers by the seventh inning, and he was pretty liberal with the bench too. You gotta wonder how fresh those guys will feel later on! Garrett Whitlock made his return from the IL in the eighth, dealing a clean 1-2-3 inning on just 13 pitches. Over on the Yankees side, Adley Rutschman, who started rough, turned his day into a triumph. He broke out of his drought at the plate, scored two runs, and even recovered a couple of strikeouts using the ABS challenge system in the eighth and ninth. Even with some weirdness, like Nick Sogard unfairly sent back to second base after an umpire inexplicably called time mid-play, the Sox kept pushing. And the Yankees? Glorious. Three of their guys let a shallow outfield fly drop between them, and their own fans started booing and heading for the exits. The Sox put the nail in the coffin with four more runs in the ninth, making it a comfortable 6-0 win.
What a win for the Sox, taking a one-game lead in the season series! This is the last time these two rivals meet in the regular season. Erik Miller and Aroldis Chapman are fresh for the Yankees, so we’ll see if the Sox can keep that momentum rolling when Game 2 kicks off tonight!
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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