BOSTON --- The NFL season kicked off just down the road on Sunday night, and the Red Sox should consider themselves fortunate.
The seemingly annual championship celebration enjoyed by the Patriots and their subsequent thumping of the Steelers diverted a fair share of eyes from the proceedings at Fenway Park. It was a rather grim scene indeed.
A cool breeze blew in off the Charles River, a sure sign that summer is slipping away. The crowd of 35,681 fans was shy of a [...]
BOSTON --- The NFL season kicked off just down the road on Sunday night, and the Red Sox should consider themselves fortunate.
The seemingly annual championship celebration enjoyed by the Patriots and their subsequent thumping of the Steelers diverted a fair share of eyes from the proceedings at Fenway Park. It was a rather grim scene indeed.
A cool breeze blew in off the Charles River, a sure sign that summer is slipping away. The crowd of 35,681 fans was shy of a sellout, with attention turned elsewhere. Boston is all but finished in the American League wild card race, losing further ground in the standings after a 10-5 setback against the Yankees.
Victories by the Rays, Athletics and Indians represented a damaging trifecta for the defending World Series champions, who are now 8 games adrift of a place in October with just 19 to play. Rick Porcello was hammered again, the bullpen leaked oil in the late innings and New York continued to steam its way toward an A.L. East title.
Pitching at home against the Yankees had previously represented the last line of defense for Porcello. His career 1.51 earned-run average in 10 starts against them at this venue included a brilliant one-hitter during a four-game sweep last season. Those days seem long ago now, as Porcello was thumped yet again to the tune of six earned runs in just four innings.
Gleyber Torres started the thunder against Porcello with a two-run homer to the Monster Seats in the top of the second and Mike Tauchman finished it with a towering two-run shot around the Pesky Pole in the top of the fourth. Aaron Judge’s RBI single and Gary Sanchez’s infield out both plated runs in the third, as Porcello’s career-worst ERA swelled to 5.83.
Tauchman’s homer was the 30th this season allowed by Porcello, and it sealed a sixth time in his last 12 starts where Porcello has allowed multiple round-trippers. Porcello was charged with at least five earned runs for the 12th time in 29 starts this season, including three of his four outings against the Yankees. In some ways this has been worse than a 2017 campaign where Porcello lost 17 games and tied Tim Wakefield’s club record with 38 home runs allowed.
Judge added a solo homer to left against Ryan Brasier in the fifth, and Torres knocked in another run thanks to an infield out. New York was never seriously threatened despite a rocky outing of its own from Masahiro Tanaka, who wasn’t around for the decision. Chad Green picked up the win in relief by retiring all nine men he faced, carving his way through the Red Sox lineup from top to bottom.
Boston was in a 4-0 hole when Jackie Bradley Jr. drove a two-run homer down the line in left in the third. Back-to-back RBI doubles by Mitch Moreland and Sandy Leon made it a 6-4 game in the fourth and all but finished Tanaka, who allowed eight hits in four innings. Three Yankees relievers handled business from there, with Mookie Betts nicking Adam Ottavino for a solo homer to represent the only damage.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25