Red Sox advance to ALCS with 4-3 win over Yankees after dramatic 9th inning
Boston held on after a late rally from New York.
The Red Sox triumphed over the Yankees 4-3 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. The win sends Boston to the American League Championship Series after defeating their rivals from New York, three games to one.
Here are all of the highlights from a dramatic final game of the series:
9th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 3
Bottom of the 9th
: Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel entered the game, walking Aaron Judge on four pitches. A Didi Gregorius single brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Giancarlo Stanton, who promptly struck out. Luke Voit walked, loading the bases. Kimbrel hit Neil Walker to bring in the second run of the night for New York. Gary Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly, bringing then Yankees one run closer to a tie game. Gleyber Torres hit a soft ground ball to Eduardo Nunez, who fielded and fired to first baseman Steve Pearce.
In a play that was reviewed, Pearce stretched in time to get the out, ending the game and clinching a Red Sox trip to the American League Championship Series.
Crazy, stressful, insane.
This is what October baseball’s all about. pic.twitter.com/MLuoPyH0mP
— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2018
SEE YOU IN THE ALCS! #DODAMAGE pic.twitter.com/D0RVf7PuPk
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 10, 2018
A celebration 63 seconds in the making/waiting. Red Sox hold on for dear life to win two straight in Yankee Stadium. ALCS Game 1 on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/to4JBYiR6B
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Top of the 9th: With Aroldis Chapman in for the Yankees, Steve Pearce flied out and J.D. Martinez quickly grounded out. Xander Bogaerts struck out to send it to the bottom of the 9th.
8th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1
Bottom of the 8th
: Chris Sale entered for Boston to make a dramatic relief appearance. Gleyber Torres skied a deep out to right-center, with Jackie Bradley Jr. getting underneath to make the catch. With a full count, Andrew McCutchen grounded out to Eduardo Nunez for the inning’s second out. And Sale retired the side in order, getting Aaron Hicks on a called third strike.
My guy SALE!! 3 mas…
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) October 10, 2018
Bring in the ace. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/f9yKPk0hHt
— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2018
That was easy for Sale. Good little tune up for Saturday.
Sox have retired 11 in a row.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 10, 2018
🗣 SALE pic.twitter.com/ENElQj0Wbs
— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2018
Top of the 8th: Dellin Betances stayed in the game for New York, striking out Ian Kinsler. Eduardo Nunez collected his second hit of the game, ripping a double into left field. Jackie Bradley Jr. reached on an error from Luke Voit, putting runners on the corners with one out. Bradley moved into scoring position by stealing second. Christian Vazquez struck out to give New York the second out of the inning. After intentionally walking Mookie Betts to load the bases, Andrew Benintendi struck out to end the inning.
As upset as you’ll see Benintendi with a called strike. Sox strand three. Sale is coming on for his first relief appearance since G4 of last year’s ALDS.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
7th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1
Bottom of the 7th
: Ryan Brasier entered the game for the Red Sox. Mookie Betts ran over to make a skillful catch on Luke Voit’s right field fly ball for the inning’s first out. Neil Walker followed, striking out on a 97 mph fastball from Brasier. Gary Sanchez popped out to end the inning.
Top of the 7th: David Robertson continued pitching for New York, striking out Andrew Benintendi and Steve Pearce. J.D. Martinez broke Robertson’s strikeout streak by drawing a walk, causing Yankees manager Aaron Boone to call for Dellin Betances from the bullpen. Martinez advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the threat.
Cora told the Sox beat writers pre-game, “It has to be something that is too perfect” to use Sale in relief tonight. He did not seem inclined to do that.
Nine outs to get as Brasier warms up.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 10, 2018
6th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1
Bottom of the 6th
: Matt Barnes entered the game, replacing Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. Aaron Judge began for the Yankees by grounding out to shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Didi Gregorius then popped out to Eduardo Nunez. Giancarlo Stanton grounded out to end the inning.
Top of the 6th: David Robertson entered the game for the Yankees, getting Jackie Bradley Jr. to ground out to Neil Walker. Robertson then got Christian Vazquez and Mookie Betts on strikeouts to retire the side.
5th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1
Bottom of the 5th
: Neil Walker started the inning by lining out to Jackie Bradley Jr. in centerfield. Gary Sanchez doubled to left-centerfield, finding the gap. Gleyber Torres reached on an infield single, moving Sanchez to third base. Brett Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to score Sanchez from third. Aaron Hicks smashed a hard hit foul ball that just hooked away from being a line drive home run to right field. He followed it up by popping out to Ian Kinsler to end the inning.
Once Hicks ripped that 0-2 foul ball, Porcello wasn’t going back to the heater: slider (ball), change (ball), curve (foul), slider (ball), changeup (popup to right). Porcello gets through the 5th still up, 4-1.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Top of the 5th: Zach Britton continued on the mound for the Yankees, getting J.D. Martinez to ground out to shortstop Didi Gregorius. Xander Bogaerts responded, reaching on an infield single when the ball bounced off of Britton’s glove. Ian Kinsler struck out on a Britton breaking ball, and Eduardo Nunez lined out to retire the side.
4th inning: Red Sox 4, Yankees 0
Bottom of the 4th
: Rick Porcello got Aaron Judge to hit a towering fly out to right field before Didi Gregorius lined a double into the right-center gap. Giancarlo Stanton was thrown out on a broken bat grounder, followed by an inning-ending groundout from Luke Voit.
Rick Porcello pitch count by inning:
8-9-11-12
40 pitches, 32 strikes.
Eovaldi and Porcello have thrown 75.9 percent strikes the last two nights.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 10, 2018
In, in, in for Porcello vs Stanton with three straight two-seamers, the last blowing up the bat for a groundout.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Top of the 4th: CC Sabathia made way for Zach Britton on the mound for New York. Christian Vazquez promptly welcomed Britton to the game by swatting an opposite field home run. Britton recovered, getting Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi on a pair of strikeouts before Didi Gregorius made a fantastic play on a hard hit ball to the shortstop, throwing out Steve Pearce to end the threat.
Get porch’d. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/iWrLDgx1jo
— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2018
Christian Vazquez sneaks one over the fence in RF and it’s 4-0. His first postseason homer.
So using Kinsler, Nunez and Vazquez has led to three runs so far.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 10, 2018
Cora, man. He knows stuff.
— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) October 10, 2018
3rd inning: Red Sox 3, Yankees 0
Bottom of the 3rd
: Gleyber Torres hit a line drive headed toward the left-centerfield gap, but Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi chased it down to make a running catch for the inning’s first out. Rick Porcello proceeded to get Brett Gardner to ground out and Aaron Hicks to pop out to end the inning.
Top of the 3rd: CC Sabathia’s first pitch of the inning hit Andrew Benintendi in the shoulder, putting him on first base. Benintendi raced to third base on a softly hit single into right-centerfield from Steve Pearce. With runners on the corners and no outs, J.D. Martinez hit a deep out to centerfield, scoring Benintendi on a sacrifice fly. Xander Bogaerts grounded out, moving Pearce to second.
The Red Sox first baseman then advanced to third base on wild pitch before Ian Kinsler hit him home with an RBI double. Eduardo Nunez made it 3-0 with base hit to left field, scoring Kinsler from second. Jackie Bradley Jr. ended the inning with a groundout to first.
One BIG inning for the Sox.
Boston’s on the board first. pic.twitter.com/oqi9IsQvun
— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2018
Kinsler rips an RBI double over Gardner’s head. That was a legitimate rocket – 106 mph.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
2nd inning: Red Sox 0, Yankees 0
Bottom of the 2nd
: Rick Porcello quickly got both Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit to ground out to third base. Yankee third baseman Neil Walker answered with a first pitch single to right field, but Gary Sanchez ended the threat with another groundout, this time to shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Sanchez is the first Yankee to see a first-pitch ball from Porcello. Yankees are clearly expecting Porcello to be extremely aggressive establishing strike 1: 4 of the first 6 Yankees swung at the first pitch.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Top of the 2nd: Eduardo Nunez flew out to Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge to open the inning, followed by a strikeout from Jackie Bradley Jr. Christian Vazquez drew a two-out walk off of CC Sabathia, but the Yankee veteran ended the threat by getting Mookie Betts to fly out to right field.
1st inning: Red Sox 0, Yankees 0
Bottom of the 1st
: Rick Porcello settled in after a deep centerfield out on the first pitch of the game to Yankee outfielder Aaron Hicks, retiring the side in order on eight pitches.
One day after Mookie Betts drove Severino’s first pitch to the track in CF for an out, Hicks does the same on Porcello’s first offering. Projected distance of 409 feet – in a park where the fence is 408 feet. (Because Bradley caught it standing, projected distance < actual.)
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Top of the 1st: Yankees starter CC Sabathia got off to a solid start, retiring both Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi on infield groundouts. Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce answered with a line drive single up the middle with two outs. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez reached on an infield single to put runners on first and second.
The Martinez single had an exit velocity of 45.3 mph, the softest he’s hit a ball that resulted in a base hit this year.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 10, 2018
Xander Bogaerts drew a walk to load the bases. After Ian Kinsler hit a first pitch cutter to deep left field, Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner chased it down to make a running catch.
Pregame sights and sounds
BP dingers (for now). pic.twitter.com/q9XJeUDveA
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1049802209074937861
The big bats are ready for Game 4. pic.twitter.com/cp8LjbMpo2
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2018
What Alex Cora had to say
Join us live as Alex Cora talks ALDS game 4! https://t.co/OQsUiDqYZT
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 9, 2018
Lineups
Let’s do this. #DoDamage pic.twitter.com/0KK5onEZcj
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 9, 2018
Call The Avengers. It’s all on the line. pic.twitter.com/oo64eRCy4h
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 9, 2018
Here is Peter Abraham’s full game preview.
Other notes
■ Brock Holt is out of the lineup after hitting for the cycle in Game 3. Ian Kinsler is in at second. Against Sabathia, Holt is 0 for 4 with two walks, two strikeouts, and a .000 slugging percentage. Kinsler, meanwhile, is 13 of 45 with two home runs, four RBIs, four walks, five Ks, and a .444 slugging percentage.
■ Porcello is making his second appearance and first start of this postseason. He threw ⅔ of an inning in relief in Game 1. This marks Porcello’s fourth playoff start as a Red Sox — Boston is 0-3 in his previous three nods — and his first playoff start in Yankee Stadium. In seven career starts in the Bronx, Porcello is 1-4 with a 5.56 ERA and 7.0 strikeouts per nine over 43⅔ innings. He faced the Yankees four times this regular season, going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA with 7.7 strikeouts per nine and four walks over 23⅓ innings.
■ Porcello grew up about 40 miles from Yankee Stadium in Morristown, N.J., so close that he will often spend a night at the home he has there when the Red Sox get a day off in New York.
“I couldn’t think of a better spot to be in as a big leaguer, getting the opportunity to have the ball for Game 4 in Yankee Stadium. That’s what it’s all about,’’ Porcello said.
— Peter Abraham
■ Tuesday marks Sabathia’s first playoff start against Boston since the 2007 ALCS when he was with the Indians. Sabathia started three games against the Sox this season, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and five walks over 14 innings.
■ Sabathia’s 3.65 ERA this season was his lowest since 2012. He’s 8-3 with a 3.29 ERA in 17 postseason starts wearing pinstripes, and that mark plummets to a minuscule 1.76 in playoff starts at home.
He was in a reflective mood Monday ahead of tonight’s start. Sabathia made his first postseason start in 2001, when Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres was just 4 years old.
Most professional athletes give generic, affirming answers when asked how prior postseason experience helps in the here and now. Then there’s Sabathia, who, at 38, has tired of regurgitated talking points.
“I don’t think it’s going to help me at all,’’ Sabathia said bluntly.
Candid as always, Sabathia acknowledged the Red Sox lineup gives him a bit of a scare.
“Top to bottom, it’s a tough lineup,’’ he said. “They’ve got speed. They’ve got power. It’s a bad lineup for me in the fact they take a lot of pitches, they’re patient, and they do a good job working the count.
“Just try to stay even keel and go out and pitch as best as I can.’’
— Owen Pence
■ Umpire Angel Hernandez is behind the plate tonight after a poor performance at first base in Game 3 when he had three of four calls overturned on replay. Andrew Mahoney wrote about Hernandez’s history and how all eyes will be on him tonight.
