The Yankees got shut out by Eduardo Rodriguez and the Red Sox bullpen, 4-0 on a hot summer Friday night at The Stadium. Jordan Montgomery allowed a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning to Christian Arroyo, after allowing a 1-out double to Rafael Devers that many felt Brett Gardner should have caught in centerfield.
It wouldn’t have mattered as Rodriguez and the Boston bullpen motored through the Yankee lineup all evening — a lineup that was depleted because several vaccinated Yankees were diagnosed as testing positive for COVID — Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, and Kyle Higashioka were placed on the COVID injured list.
With the loss the Yanks fall to 9 games back of Boston, in 4th place with a record of 46-44.
1. Monty Pitched Well
Would Montgomery have allowed the 2-run homer to Arroyo had Gartner made the catch? It would have been 2 outs and a runner on 1st (Xander Bogaerts had walked) and no runs in yet. If Monty pitches Arroyo differently — maybe the game is a shutout pitchers’ duel into the late innings. At worst it would have been a 2-run homer to make it 2-0, not 3-0.
In any case, Monty pitched great after the homerun; his final line: 6 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 4 K’s, 2 walks.
When asked how he felt about his performance:
“Pretty good. Second inning can’t happen. Can’t walk Boegarts; that was a pretty close pitch, but 3-2 you have to throw a more competitive pitch. Devers gave me fits all day; put a good swing on that heater. Arroyo really made me hurt with that hung changeup. One pitch it’s (a) different (game) but just have to keep getting better. (The pitch) could have been down a little more, but .. that’s baseball.”
2. Rodriguez & the Boston Pen Pitched Better
But Eduardo Rodriguez outdueled Monty — he pitched into the 6th, shutout ball, only allowing 2 hits — and struck out 8 Yankees; walked 2.
How many strikeouts did Eddie have in his 5.2 IP?
This many: 👊👊👊👊👊👊👊👊#RedSox x @NationalPro pic.twitter.com/2me8x7fSWP— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 17, 2021
Then in came Hirokazu Sawamura to get the final out of the 6th, and Tanner Houck to pitch 3 innings of 1-hit shutout ball.
The Yankees mounted very few rallies and all came with 2 outs. In both the 5th and the 7th New York got 2 on after 2 were out; NY made out 1-2-3 in order in the 3rd, 4th, 8th, and 9th.
JD Martinez hit a homer in the top of the 8th off Justin Wilson to make it 4-0.
3. Amburgey and Park Make MLB Debuts
Because of the COVID issues, Trey Amburgey and Hoy Jun Park — both RED HOT in AAA Scranton, were called up and made their major league debuts — Amburgey starting in right field (going 0-2) and Park coming in as a pinch hitter late (going 0-1) — Park is a left-handed pitcher and Rodriguez is a lefty starter. Park then went out to play outfield late.
🚨🚨MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT ALERT🚨🚨
Trey Amburgey walks out to right field for the Yankees with a smile on his face. A dream come true.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/jDh7qHT3SV
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 16, 2021
4. Chapman Pitches Shutout 9th
One minor piece of good news is that Aroldis Chapman pitched the 9th with no pressure (Yanks down 4-0) and retired the side on no runs allowing only 1 walk. So there’s that.
Also Domingo German came on in relief for the second consecutive time and pitched a shutout inning — the 7th.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401228415
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