Total Yankee Team Effort Leads to Victory Over Rival Red Sox

In Front of a sold out crowd at Fenway Park, the New York Yankees gutted out a game to victory over the rival Red Sox. Although Nathan Eovaldi started for the Yankees tonight, it took every member of the bullpen outside of Anthony Swarzak to nail down tonight's gritty come-back victory. The recent acquisition from San Diego, Drew Pomeranz took the ball for Boston and was also hit with a no decision as the Red Sox bullpen used every available member in this sloppy back and forth marathon of a game two.

After pitching a perfect first inning, Eovaldi was inexplicably pulled for Chasen Shreve in what was later described as "discomfort in his pitching elbow" and was sent back to New York for further evaluation.

And it was Shreve who allowed the Red Sox to put up the first runs of the game. In the bottom of the third, Shreve gave up a lead off single to Sandy Leon, who advanced to third on a Dustin Pedroia one-out double. The lefty then drilled All-Star shortstop Xander Bogarts to load the bases. And was pulled for fresh call up from the Scranton Express Blake Parker. Parker got Mookie Betts to ground out, scoring Leon from third to put the Red Sox ahead by one. But then the rookie right-hander got David Ortiz to pop out to left to end the frame.

The Red Sox put another run on the board in the bottom of the fourth as they continued to knock the Yankees bullpen around. Jackie Bradley Jr. started with a single to center, advancing into second on a Travis Shaw walk. Surprisingly hot hitting Sandy Leon followed with another single to right, loading the bases for the Sox yet again with one out. Parker then induced a ground ball off the bat of Triple-A Pawtucket call up Andrew Benintendi that scored Bradley Jr. and extended the Boston lead to two. Then, Parker was lifted for Nick Goody, Who immediately got Pedroia to pop out to end the fourth.

The Bombers got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth when Didi Gregorius smacked a solo shot off Pomeranz into the bullpen and right, pulling the Yankees back to within one.

Although there was no scoring to report on in the bottom of the fifth, it was not because there was a lack of drama. Goody began the inning by walking Xander Bogarts, a double to Mookie Betts that advanced Bogarts to third and an intentional walk to David Ortiz to load the bases for the third time in the game. After the walk, Goody was pulled for former Red Sox and recent addition Tommy Layne, who proceeded to get Jackie Bradley Jr. to pop out to Teixeira and struck out pinch hitter Aaron Hill to end the inning, incredibly without a run crossing home plate.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, is where the Sox really started to press the Bomber bullpen. Layne walked Leon, Benintendi singled which forced Girardi to pull Layne for Tyler Clippard. Clippard immediately allowed a Pedroia RBI single down the left-field line that scored Leon, 3-1, and then an RBI ground out to Bogarts to extend a lead to 4-1. And had it not been for an unbelievable throw by  Gregorius to gun Bogarts out at the plate, trying to score off a Mookie Betts double, the inning could've got really out of hand.

Few times this season have I been as excited as I was in the top of the seventh as they came back to take the lead on their bitter rivals. Matt Barnes came on in relief of Pomeranz and proceeded to allow back-to-back singles to Gregorius and rookie Gary Sanchez. The next batter Austin Romine singled to left, scoring Gregorius to make it a two-run ballgame. In his only at bat so far in the series, Alex Rodriguez pinch hit for Hicks and popped out to right field, moving Sanchez to third-base with one out. Left-hander Fernando Abad was called upon to relieve Barnes and immediately serves up a rocket to Jacoby Ellsbury under the glove of Hanley Ramirez that scored Sanchez and brought the Yankees back to within one. Chase Headley followed up with a single of his own, this one to left that scored Romine and tied the game at four. Abad was yanked for Junichi Tazawa, who walked Teixeira to fill up the bases for Starlin Castro. Castro ripped a single down the left-field line that scored Ellsbury and Headley to put the Yanks up for the first time at 6-4. Gregorius popped out to end the frame as the Yankees batted around in a 37 minute seventh inning.

Adam Warren was brilliant in relief tonight as he held the Red Sox scoreless, allowing his offense to really open up the game in the top of the eighth. Gary Sanchez started the inning by launching a 426 foot blast over the green monster for his first big league homerun, 7-4 New York. Tazawa then walked Romine, and was taken out for Robbie Ross. Rob Redsnyder. Who replaced Hicks (Rodriguez), singled off of Ross and both he and Romine advanced a base when the lefty threw a wild pitch past Leon during Brett Gardner's at bat. After a Jacoby Ellsbury walked, Ross plated the eighth Yankee run with another wild pitch that scored Romine and also advanced Refsnyder to third. Headley popped out to Ranirez and yet another Ross wild pitch scored Refsnyder from third in a Teixeira at-bat that made it a 9-4 score, where it would remain for the rest of the ballgame, thanks to three brilliant innings by Warren and Betances.

Each and every member of the Yankees were responsible for this win tonight, and look to continue their momentum in the rubber game tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM/EST.