YANKEE STREAK IS A MONSTER
Bombers rally to beat Sox in 12, have won nine straight
BOSTON — DJ LeMahieu had struggled all night, but when the Yankees' most reliable hitter came up with runners in scoring position with two outs in the top of the 12th Friday night, it almost seemed like a given. The infielder chipped a double up the rightfield line, scoring the winning run as the Yankees rallied to beat the Red Sox 6-5 at Fenway Park.
That extended the winning streak for the Yankees (30-21) to nine games, their longest of the season. They improved to 8-0 against the Red Sox (18-33) this season and extended their winning streak to 11 straight games over their American League East rival. The Yankees have won 16 of the last 17 against the Red Sox.
It was a night of big comebacks, as the Yankees rallied from a 4-0 deficit, starting with Gary Sanchez's seventh-inning two-run double. Aaron Judge scored on Giancarlo Stanton's eighth-inning double to get the Yankees within a run. With pinch runner Mike Tauchman on second, Luke Voit lined out to third base and Gleyber Torres struck out looking, but Sanchez tied the game with a two-out, top of the ninth inning home run over the Green Monster.
In the 11th, Voit got his first hit of the night to drive in the Yankees' go-ahead run, which they gave back in the bottom of the inning.
For 45 games, the Yankees had been waiting to get their lineup back. They waited on Judge to return from a strained right calf and Stanton to work his way back from a strained left hamstring. Friday night, for the first time since Aug. 11, the Yankees had both their big sluggers back in the lineup.
The Yankees expected the offense to continue its impressive roll from the threegame sweep over the Blue Jays this week.
They had hit five home runs in an inning Thursday night, tying an MLB record and setting an MLB record with 19 home runs in a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays in the Bronx. They outscored the Blue Jays 43- 15.
Getting back a comfortable and confident Sanchez at the plate could be as big as getting the two sluggers back from the injured list.
“I'm just excited about the things that those guys can not just do together on the field, but they make everybody else around them in the lineup better, make the lineup so tough to navigate for the opposing pitchers,” Brett Gardner said. “Both those guys are very important to us having the success that we want to have.”
Judge went 1-for-6 with a strikeout and Stanton went 1for-3 with a strikeout and a walk. Voit, who has been the diesel engine of this offense, went 1for-5 with three strikeouts.
Even with the 2-for-4 night, Sanchez's average is just .156. But over his last eight games, Sanchez has started to show some life. After being benched for two games to work on his approach, Sanchez has gone 9for-43 with four home runs and 10 RBI.
Friday night, Red Sox lefty Martin Perez dominated that lineup. He pitched six shutdown innings, giving up three hits and striking out seven — all looking — while walking none.
Jordan Montgomery also had an outlier of a night for the Yankees' rotation.
He could not get out of the fifth inning, snapping a streak of nine straight games where the Yankees starters went at least five innings. He allowed four runs, the first Yankee starter to allow more than three runs in 11 games. The Red Sox got five hits off him, he walked two and struck out seven. He gave up a lead-off single to Christian Vazquez and a one-out single to Jackie Bradley, Jr. Montgomery never checked on them and they easily executed a double steal to get in scoring position.
It didn't matter when Montgomery hung a 82-mile an hour change-up over the plate and Christian Arroyo sent it high over the Green Monster.