Just before the game the Boston Red Sox told the umpires their PitchCom wasn’t working. That forced both teams to not use the PitchCom.
That could have thrown off Yankee starter Jhony Brito and catcher Ben Rortvedt using old-fashioned finger signals to call pitches — as they “scuffled a little bit in the first two innings, a couple of cross-ups there”, said Rortvedt afterwards.
Whether that was the reason or not — Brito was bombed for 7 runs in the first 2 innings.
Meanwhile Brayan Bello, the Red Sox young ace, shut down the Yanks for 6 innings of 1-run ball. Ian Hamilton and Keynan Middleton pitched 4.2 shutout innings and Aaron Judge hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to make it 7-3 — but the Yanks never challenged.
Brito said the PitchCom wasn’t the reason he was ripped — he said he struggled with his change up and Boone agreed: “He was up with his changeup, really couldn’t command glove side, and they obviously made him pay for it,” said Boone afterwards.
As the boos rained down on a Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
NY drops to 60-62, 15 games behind Baltimore, 13 behind Tampa, 6.5 behind Toronto and a Wild Card, and 4 behind Boston. The Red Sox are now 64-58.
1. Brito Ripped
Brito and Rortvedt learned they couldn’t use the PitchCom just before the first pitch, so they had to communicate by the old fashioned finger signals — which, Rortvedt said, “nobody has used in 2 years”. Brito allowed a leadoff double to start the game by Alex Verdugo, a single to Rafael Devers, an RBI single to Justin Turner, and a 3-run homer to Masataka Yoshida and it was 4-0 Red Sox with nobody out yet.
Brito settled in and got strike out, foul out, fly out to end the 1st but in the 2nd, a 1-out error by Gleyber Torres put a runner on and Brito lost it again — four consecutive singles by Verdugo, Devers, Turner, and Yoshida made it 7-0 Boston and the boos rained down at Yankee Stadium.
Make it a 4-RBI night for Masataka Yoshida! pic.twitter.com/KFIocNfDKH
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 18, 2023
Brito finally got a fly out and ground out to end it, but in the 3rd, a 1-out double by Reese McGuire sent him to the showers.
“Jhony was filling up the strike zone,” said catcher Rortvedt. “They know he has a good change up; maybe some hitters in some counts were looking for it, maybe it was something we should have bounced or gotten a little low in the strike zone at that point.”
2. Bello Terrific Again
“He’s built-in really tough on righties with that sinker,” said manager Aaron Boone about Bello. “He’s put together a really nice season. We made him work a little bit and got that pitch count up. But that sinker, especially for our righties, which really complements his other stuff, he can be tough.”
As Boone noted, NY did better against Bello than they had earlier this season — working his pitch count to 98 so that he had to be removed after 6 innings. The Yanks got 6 hits and a walk off him:
- NY got a run in the 3rd on a leadoff double by Anthony Volpe, who moved to 3rd on a groundout by Rortvedt, and scored on a groundout by DJ LeMahieu.
- NY got consecutive 2-out singles in the 4th — by Gleyber Torres and Billy McKinney.
- Volpe led off the 5th with a single but was erased on a double play.
- Giancarlo Stanton got on with an infield single in the 6th, but was erased on a double play.
3. Hamilton & Middleton Terrific
Meanwhile Ian Hamilton was terrific again — using his “slambio” (mix between a slider and a changeup), his 96-MPH sinker, and 96-MPH four-seam fastball to subdue Boston for 3.2 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit.
Keynan Middleton pitched well again — a shutout 7th — walk to Devers, double play, and strikeout.
4. Judge Homer #23
Aaron Judge hithis 23rd homer of the year in the bottom of the 8th against Garrett Whitlock, with DJ Lemahieu on board to make it 7-3 Boston.
👨⚖️ #AllRise pic.twitter.com/IfA2Y08tP8
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 19, 2023
5. Yanks Blow Rally in 9th
Greg Weissert pitched well also — a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th, and got the first 2 outs of the 9th before an Alex Verdugo double and Devers single made it 8-3 Boston.
The Yanks put 2nd and 3rd nobody out in the 9th against reliever Brennan Bernardino — with a Gleyber Torres leadoff single and Isiah Kiner-Falefa double.
But Bernandino struck out Harrison Bader and former Yankee Chris Martin came in to strike out Anthony Volpe and get Rortvedt to fly out for the old ballgame.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401472843
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