Field Level Media
Apr 11, 2018
Gary Sanchez hit two home runs Wednesday as the visiting New York Yankees earned an emotional 10-7 victory that ended the Boston Red Sox's nine-game win streak.
The game between the longtime rivals included two bench-clearing incidents, the second of which, in the seventh inning, turned into an on-field brawl after Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly hit the Yankees' Tyler Austin with a pitch in the back.
That pitch appeared to be in retaliation for Austin's hard slide in the third inning when his lead foot clipped the foot of Red Sox shortstop Brock Holt during a force out. The benches cleared then as well but there was no further incident.
Both Austin and Kelly were ejected in the seventh inning after Austin slammed his bat to the ground after being hit with the pitch then charged the mound.
Sanchez, who entered with just two hits, had three by the fourth inning: a home run in the first, a double in the third and another home run in the fourth, his third of the season. He finished with four RBIs.
Despite trailing by seven runs at one point, the Red Sox made things interesting with a five-run fifth inning that cut their deficit to 8-6. The inning was highlighted by a grand slam from J.D. Martinez off Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka.
Red Sox starter David Price (1-1) lasted just one inning, leaving the game after he experienced a tingling sensation in his left hand. He gave up four runs on three hits with two walks in the shortest start of his career. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated.
Not only did the Yankees get a Sanchez home run in the first inning, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a two-run triple to center field. The Red Sox got a run back in the bottom of the first on a Hanley Ramirez home run, his second.
An Austin RBI single gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead in the third. That lead was increased to 8-1 in the fourth inning on a Didi Gregorius sacrifice fly and Sanchez's second two-run home run.
After the Red Sox closed the gap in the fifth, the Yankees distanced their lead in the sixth on an RBI single from Stanton and another sacrifice fly from Gregorius. Stanton had three hits.
The Yankees scored a run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch. Tanaka (2-1) picked up the victory despite allowing six runs on seven hits over five innings.
--Field Level Media