Chris Sale Rises From The Ashes, JD Martinez Launches A Three-Run Bomb, And The Red Sox Take A 1-0 Series Lead
You wanted Red Sox-Yankees? You got Red Sox Yankees. Beyond the storied history between these two teams, this series had plenty of storylines with one of the biggest being the man who took the mound in Game 1. Red Sox ace Chris Sale hit the disabled list not once but twice in the second half of the season. Was he hurt? Were the Red Sox utilizing their large division lead to get their ace, who is known for fading in the second half of the season, some rest?
In his last regular season start, Sale registered the lowest average fastball velocity for one start in his entire career. Leading up to first pitch, we were all on velocity watch, as Sale had done this before this season. Back on April 15, Sale’s fastball averaged 90.82 MPH and everybody panicked. His next start, his fastball averaged 95.67 MPH and then he went on to have one of the best seasons in team history. In his final start of the 2018 season, Sale’s fastball averaged a career low 90.21 MPH. Was he conserving his energy in a start against the lowly Orioles that meant nothing? Was he hurt? Don’t know.
After the first pitch left Sale’s hand on Friday night, my neck snapped so hard towards the radar gun that I gave myself whiplash — 96 MPH fastball. Go time.
Sale pitched into the sixth inning, averaging 94.76 MPH with his fastball, his highest mark since September 11 against Toronto. Really, the only Yankee hitter who had good at-bats against Sale was Aaron Hicks, and he existed the game with a leg injury. The left-hander kept the Bombers off balance all night, whiffing eight batters over five and a third. Sale departed with all goose eggs on the board, but left behind two base runners.
Alex Cora needed not one, but two relievers to get the Red Sox out of the sixth inning. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Red Sox bullpen did not look good. I know, right? Crazy. Ryan Brasier, who figures to get the call in high leverage spots this postseason, allowed both of Sale’s runs to score on a base hit and a ground out. Brandon Workman had to come in to bail out Brasier, but not before he created quite the situation for himself. After walking the first batter he faced to load the bases, Workman buckled down and punched out Gleyber Torres on a 3-2 knuckle curve.
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But before this shaky ass bullpen had a lead to protect, there must first be a lead. Making his Red Sox postseason debut, JD Martinez crushed a three-run bomb that was fueled by his hatred for Hubbs. Hubbs actually tried to pull the “I’m in his head card,” as if that’s a good thing. Hubbs, he hates you so much that he’s determined to ruin your life in this series and crushed a ball into the Monster seats the first chance that he got, and almost put one in the Yankee bullpen later in the game. That’s a bad thing.
You know what else is a bad thing? How unreliable the Red Sox bullpen is. Let’s circle back to that for a second. Brasier didn’t look good, Workman was bend but don’t break, Matt Barnes looked decent enough in a huge spot, Rick Porcello snuck a couple of relief outs in there, and then Craig Kimbrel faced five batters, struck out three and gave up a rocket homer to Aaron Judge in the ninth. Feels like Judge has Kimbrel’s number, and I’m not crazy about that since I’m sure there will come a time in this series when Kimbrel is asked to get Judge out in a do or die spot.
As shaky as they were, they didn’t blow the game. I guess I’m gonna have to stick to the “a win’s a win” mindset here. Was it uncomfortable? Ummmmm, yeah. I was incredibly uncomfortable, as I watched the Yankees chip away at Boston’s 5-0 lead to a one-run game, knowing that Kimbrel wasn’t going to be called upon for the final three outs any time soon. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the almighty W, and the Red Sox got theirs in the first game of this best of five.
Now, we turn our eyes to David Price who has two demons to overcome. At least, that’s how it feels. I don’t necessarily agree with the “he can’t beat the Yankees” people. People forget that it was Price who started the final game of that four-game sweep that essentially ended the division race in August. He also tossed eight shutout innings against the Yankees at Fenway last year, too.
For all the people who think that the regular season doesn’t mean anything now, you’re wrong. The Red Sox having a better record in the regular season is what got Price a start at Fenway Park in this series versus Yankee Stadium. In a best of five series, you can’t possibly overstate how huge that is.
Final score: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 — BOS leads series 1-0
