Price Is Wrong In New York, Yanks Cruise To 8-2 Victory

      A night after hitting double digits in the win column, New York faced Boston in game two of the three-game set at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox sent ace David Price and his 6.14 ERA to the mound to face New York. Coming off a big win last night, the Yankees countered with Nathan Eovaldi,  hoping he could pitch deep into the game in route to a series victory.  With all of the craziness that took place in last nights game, laden with missed calls and managerial ejections, the Red Sox came in to today's game with a chip on their shoulder. But, an ace-like performance from "Nasty Nate" and an offense of outburst by the bombers knocked that chip right off. 

     The Red Sox would draw first blood, coming off an RBI single by Brock Holt in the top of the second inning. However, New York would not stay behind for long. In the bottom of the fourth, the struggling Chase Headley lead off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on a bunt by Didi Gregorius. Then, an unlikely run-producer, backup catcher Austin Romine drilled a double into the gap in right center, scoring Headly and tying the game at one. 

     Price found himself in trouble all afternoon long. In the bottom of the fourth, he allowed back to back singles to Starlin Castro and Mark Teixeira to lead off the inning. Because Elsbury was missing today's game due to injury, Dustin Ackley received the start and had a phenomenal at bat against Price, drawing a walk and loading the bases. With two outs, Didi saved the day, smoking a double into centerfield, clearing the bases and giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead. And then in the bottom of the fifth, after walking Castro and Hicks, the left he was bitten by yet another two-out RBI hit, this time Carlos Beltran laced a double into left, scoring both runners, extending the lead to four and chasing Price from the game. Only in 19 out of 220 career starts has David Price allowed six or more runs in an outing, and seven of those instances were against the Yankees. 

     The offensive on slot would continue even with the ace out of the game. In the bottom of the sixth,  relief pitcher Matt Barnes allowed back to back singles to Gregorius and Romine. After walking Brett Gardner on four pitches, the right-hander served up a sacrifice fly to Aaron Hicks, scoring Gregorius and pushing the lead even farther, 7-2. In the bottom of the eighth, Chase Headley recorded his second hit of the afternoon, leading off the inning with a single against newly inserted reliever Sean O'Sullivan. After Gregorius flew out to centerfield, the pleasantly surprising afternoon for the unsung hero Austin Romine would continue. The back-up backstop lined his second double into left center, scoring Headly and tying the bow on a huge offensive day for the Bronx Bonbers. 

     What gets lost in an offensive explosion like today is that "Nasty Nate" lived up to his nickname. With Delin Betances being unavailable for today's game, the Yankees needed him to pitch deep into the game and pitch well, and boy did the Texas born right-hander ever deliver. Keeping Red Sox hitters off-balance all afternoon, the flamethrower was still touching 100 mph in the seventh. All told, Eovaldi pitched eight innings, allowing just six hits, striking out six and gave up just the two earned runs, the second coming off a solo homerun by Jackie Bradley Jr. in the fifth. 

     Today, I finally had fun watching my Yankees play the way I know they are capable of playing. Let's hope it continues tomorrow night, as New York looks to finish off this sweep of the rival Red Sox, beginning at 8:05 PM ET on ESPN.