The Yankees failed to sweep their rival Red Sox in their Sunday night home game, as Boston beat the Bronx Bombers 3–4 for the team’s first lost of the young season.
The Red Sox began the game strong, piling on two runs against Yankee starter Jordan Montgomery in the 1st inning — with two successive singles, followed by a double from J. D. Martinez scored one run, and left another runner on third base, who later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly.
The bottom of the first, meanwhile, would come to represent the Yankees’ glaring problem throughout the game of leaving multiple runners in scoring positions — as the team left bases loaded for the first of 2 times in the game.
The Yanks stayed in the ballgame, though, as Anthony Rizzo walked in the 3rd inning, and a Giancarlo Stanton single brought Rizzo around the bases to cut the Red Sox lead to 2–1.
The team would take Montgomery out of the game in the top of the 4th, after he allowed a runner to reach first on a wild pitch for a dropped third strike, and then gave up a single to right field.
Montgomery would finish the evening after 3.1 innings, having allowed 4 hits and a walk — but not before he weathered a terrifying moment when a ball rocketed off a Red Sox bat and hit him in the knee, though he appears to be okay.
That pitching change brought spring training-standout Clarke Schmidt into the game with runners in scoring position, and he quickly allowed a sacrifice fly against his first offensive opponent to put the Sox up 3–1.
The Yankees would respond again in the 4th, when newly-acquired Yankee infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa smashed a double on the first pitch of the inning, and Jose Trevino sent a slider just over the extended glove of Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts to reach first.
Rizzo, who the team recently re-signed with the Yanks this offseason, would continue his magical season start, singling to center and both Kiner-Falefa and Bogaerts across the plate.
The back-and-forth nature of the game continued in the 6th inning, when Schmidt threw a 93 mph slider that Boston first baseman Bobby Dalbec sent over the right field fence to go up 4–2.
Schmidt got out of the rest of the inning unscathed, but it would be his last for the game. He finished with just 1 hit allowed.
Lucas Luetge would take the mound next, and hold Boston scoreless in the 7th, just as Jonathan Loáisiga did for the team in the 8th, and closer Wandy Peralta did in the 9th.
Yet, the Yankees couldn’t put together another run, as Red Sox closer Jake Diekman struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th against Aaron Judge, Stanton, and Joey Gallo to deflate the Bronx crowd.
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The Yanks finished the game with 11 hits, 3 RBIs and 9 strikeouts, while the team’s defense, meanwhile, gave up 5 hits and struck out 8 Boston batters.
The team, now 2–1 so far this year, will next face the Toronto Blue Jays at home on April 4.
