The Red Sox hammered Gerrit Cole en route to their second sweep of the season against the Yankees. Following Sunday’s 9-2 victory, Boston is 6-0 against their rivals from the Bronx. The Red Sox also took over sole possession of first place in the American League East.
On the other hand, New York is 6.5 games back in the division, with the halfway point looming. Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, and the rest of the former savages will need to figure out a solution to the losing soon, or they will be vacationing in October.
Rough Day for Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Cole did not have his A-game on Sunday at Fenway Park. He did not have his B, C, or D game. Cole was dominated by the entire Red Sox lineup, which was shocking for everyone with their eyes glued to Sunday’s contest.
Sunday was the one guaranteed victory on the weekend slate, and it was the most uncompetitive contest of the weekend. The first inning started with an Enrique Hernandez home run, and Rafael Devers joined the laser show. Hernandez took Cole over the Green Monster on the ace’s first pitch of the afternoon.
Boston jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first frame, and the hit parade continued throughout the remainder of the afternoon. J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez added two more homers to Boston’s total for the day.
Cole had his worst outing of the season, allowing six runs on eight hits with three home runs. Boston completed the Gerrit Cole massacre in five innings.
The American League Cy Young favorite struck out six, but it was apparent from the first pitch that Cole would not be the Yankees’ savior on Sunday. This was the first time in Cole’s illustrious career that he allowed two home runs in the first inning.
Eduardo Rodriguez and the Bullpen Dominate Again
Boston’s bullpen was sensational against the Yankees throughout the three-game sweep. However, Eduardo Rodriguez and the Red Sox offense made their job very easy on Sunday.
Rodriguez earned his first victory in nine starts after going six innings and allowing two runs. The southpaw struck out eight and did not allow a walk. He was able to get ahead early, which kept the Bronx ‘Bombers’ off balance throughout the day.
In three innings of relief, the Red Sox bullpen allowed two hits and no runs to finish off the sweep. As “Dirty Water” by the Standells echoed throughout Fenway after sending New York home winless, blank stares were displayed throughout the Yankees’ dugout.
American League East Landscape
The Yankees had a chance entering the weekend to crawl back into the American League East conversation. However, they dug themselves a deep hole in the division. New York can still do something special in 2021, but the quality of play must improve for this to occur.
Boston is now 47-31 and 0.5 games up on the Rays for first place in the division. New York is 6.5 games back, which positions them in fourth place with two weeks until the All-Star break.
The league has been expecting New York to make a playoff push, but Boston destroyed any momentum that the team was generating this weekend. Just over half of the season is remaining, and the Yankees are still expected to be in the playoff picture.
Nevertheless, it takes wins to make the playoffs, and New York is not accomplishing this consistently compared to their competition in the division.
