The Boston Red Sox shocked the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the Wild Card series in The Bronx. New York used Anthony Volpe's solo shot in the second inning to control a 1-0 lead until the 7th inning. Starting pitcher Max Fried was pitching a great game until he was pulled in the 7th. What happened next may be tough to overcome.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone walked out to replace Fried with reliever Luke Weaver. Fried ended at 6.1 innings, allowing four hits, walking three, and K'd up six on 102 pitches.
Weaver proceeded to walk Ceddanne Rafaela, allow a double to Nick Sogard, and then a 2-run RBI single from Masataka Yoshida to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Weaver has been a great reliever all season long, but on Tuesday night, he couldn't get an out, and it seriously hurt his team.
Here is what Weaver said about it postgame, via ESPN.
“They put a good approach together, put the ball in play and found the holes,” Weaver said postgame, describing his pitching as competitive. “I know there's a lot of disappointed people, including myself, but I just got to be better.”
Aaron Boone backed up Weaver as well after the game.
“I'll take Weave there at the bottom of the order, especially with an out in the books,” Boone said.
The Yankees must respond with a win. Their season is on the line, but they have home-field advantage and the roar of the crowd to help propel them to a potential big win later tonight.
The Yankees are sending out another southpaw, Carlos Rodon. Rodon and Fried have formed an elite 1-2 tandem. Rodon is electric with his ability to strike out hitters at a 9.4 K/9 rate. He owns a 1.05 WHIP on the season, so the Red Sox are going to have to work to put runs on the board. Brayan Bello will toe the slab for the Sox.
