Trench warfare is pretty dumb. Dating back as far as Greek times, it’s generally the result of offensive technology outstripping defensive — when there’s nothing you can wear or build that will stop the opponent’s firepower, you dig down into the earth and wait. The First World War saw millions killed over imperial ambitions, covering a couple dozen kilometers of Western Europe, with front lines shifting a few meters a week. This Yankee-Red Sox game wasn’t quite an industrial horror that would have
deep and terrible ramifications for the next half-century, but there were times it almost felt like it.
Boston wins round one, 6-3. The Yankees walked nine batters and committed four errors. The game was long, slow, plodding, and saw 2006-era levels of pitching changes. Dreadful stuff.
Luis Gil was fine, throwing five innings and allowing two runs, but he really didn’t inspire. With no off days since last Thursday, and three more games to go with the Sox, you kinda wanted more than five innings. Instead Gil just couldn’t handle the strike zone.
You see Gil and all the stuff and all the potential, and then he does this. He just gives MLB hitters easy takes, and while two runs across five innings isn’t “DFA HIM!” territory, you at least get into the sixth if you don’t walk five guys.
Admittedly, Gil didn’t get all that much help from his defense, who committed three errors in the second inning, with Ben Rice’s errant throw down to second giving Boston their first run. Gil’s second run allowed came in the fifth, where walking Roman Anthony later led to the Sox rookie coming home on newbie Nathaniel Lowe’s sac fly.
Then again, Gil’s relief wasn’t all that sparkling, with both Camilo Doval and Luke Weaver having walk issues and allowing runs. Weaver, the birthday boy, was particularly off, giving up a single before Lowe doubled to make the game 4-3, and Luke walked two more beaneaters to force Tim Hill into the game. Hill, thankfully, struck out Anthony with the bases loaded to keep the game close.
The Yankee offense gave the pitching a fighting chance, if nothing else. Lucas Giolito didn’t make it through five innings, as the lineup did grind him down even if the results weren’t always there. At least Ben Rice made up for his bad throw quickly:
That’s the 20th home run for the Yankee catcher/first baseman, an incredible step forward after a 50-game campaign last year where he often looked lost.
I have also discovered my most Old Man Baseball Opinion. When you get a guy to third base with less than two outs, not scoring him is abject failure. Jazz Chisholm Jr. manufactured a run in the fourth almost entirely by himself, hitting a single, swiping second, and advancing to third on a throwing error. That set up Paul Goldschmidt to bring in Jazz with a solid single.
Rice got himself to third in the seventh, with the Yankees down one. A one-out triple meant Jazz had a chance to tie us up, and he struck out on a center-cut fastball. Strikeouts happen, Jazz had a good game, but again, my most Old Man Baseball Opinion reared its head and I’m deeply annoyed Chisholm couldn’t at least get a deep fly ball. Goldy popped out to end the threat. Grrr.
The Yankees got a lot of men on base! Eight hits, five walks, plenty of chances that they couldn’t cash in on. The four errors the team committed hurt, especially when Roman Anthony came to the plate with two out, after Paul flubbed a play at first:
Rafael Devers is dead. Long live Rafael Devers.
The Yankees had 2-3-4 coming up in the bottom of the ninth facing old….acquaintance Aroldis Chapman. Unfortunately the three best Yankee hitters couldn’t manage much of anything, going down in order against the veteran lefty.
I try not to be too hyperbolic about any one game — if the Yankees win the next three, we’re all slapping each others’ backs on Sunday night saying hot damn this was a good series, too bad Anthony got a hold of one Thursday. At the same time it’s hard not to be a little bit worried about a game like this. I don’t really put a lot of stock into the baserunning concerns for this team, but I do the defense and the pitching rotation. Max Fried hasn’t been right for a while. Gil was supposed to be a reinforcement but if you can’t find the zone, it’s hard to be that much better than replacement level.
And yes, while Michael Kay reminds us about the fallacy of the predetermined outcome, it’s hard to imagine tonight wouldn’t be radically different without the four errors. There’s a good chance Roman Anthony never comes to the plate and the Yankees are only down one facing Chapman, or maybe that first run in the second inning never scores at all. It’s only one game, but when you only have 35 left, they mean a little more than when you have 135 left.
The end to trench warfare comes when you can build something that can function with both offensive and defensive capability, something that can smash through that overwhelming firepower while giving your side the cushion and protection that minimizes risk. For New York, that could just be a four- or five-home run night tomorrow — we’ll see if they can manage it against a team better than Tampa Bay.
The minimum the Yankees need this weekend is a two-and-two split. Fried will be the one charged with getting us the first win of this big series, as we return to Amazon Prime for some Friday night baseball. Brayan Bello goes for the Sox, with a 7:05 pm Eastern first pitch.