If it wasn’t obvious in Game 1, the Red Sox bullpen is extremely vulnerable, and the Yankees are still very much in this series.
My MLB editor gave me, a Boston Red Sox fan, the easiest assignment ever: explain why New York Yankees fans shouldn’t panic after their team dropped Game 1 of the ALDS 5-4 to the Red Sox.
No problem.
Despite the Red Sox being the best team in baseball by far this year with an outstanding 108 wins, it was very evident during Game 1 why this team is extremely beatable. With the exception of closer Craig Kimbrel, there isn’t a single relief pitcher in that Boston bullpen that is capable of coming into the game and being effective.
If the Yankees are wise, they will exploit the heck out of that bullpen in these next few games.
Last night, things were going just swimmingly for the Red Sox for a while. J.D. Martinez got them on the board early with a three-run homer in the first inning. They added a couple more runs a few innings later to take a 5-0 lead. Starting pitcher Chris Sale seemed to have things under control, pitching a shutout into the sixth inning.
But then a couple of Yankee hitters reached base, and manager Alex Cora replaced Sale on the mound with right-hander Ryan Brasier, hoping that he could clean up the mess.
Not a chance.
Brasier didn’t even last an inning. He recorded one out. Then Brandon Workman came in, and he as well could only record one out. Finally Matt Barnes entered and just barely got the team through the seventh inning, but by that point, Boston’s five-run lead was down to just two.
Fed up with the ineffectiveness, Cora then turned to starter Rick Porcello to help them get through the eighth. And even Kimbrel, the only reliable arm in the pen, surrendered a solo homer to Aaron Judge in the ninth inning, which isn’t a good sign of things to come.
Sale was able to stifle the Yankee bats during his innings of work, but New York will be facing a pitcher in Game 2 that, quite simply, they’ve had their way with in the past: David Price.
Even if Price pitches well, the Yankees will have the advantage if they can make him throw a lot of pitches. The key will be to knock him out of the game by the sixth inning or so. Then they’ll have a handful off innings to face Boston’s dreadful bullpen, and that’s when those monstrous bats in the Yankee lineup, like Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Didi Gregorious etc. can do some serious damage.
If the Yankees get a win in Game 2, then they are headed back to the Bronx with a 1-1 split and two home games on deck. Even though they are trailing 1-0 in the series right now, they are still in a pretty favorable spot.
So if you’re a worried Yankees fan, you can rest is easy. This series isn’t even close to being over.