Photo Credit: pinstripealley.com
This week’s installment of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball showcased one of the most iconic rivalries in sports: the New York Yankees vs the Boston Red Sox. Anytime these two teams play, fans of baseball take notice. This game, which was played on Sunday, July 17th, 2016 has as many storylines as one could give a regular season game in mid-July.
In the vault of Yankee baseball history, July 17th, 1941 is a significant day. The great Joe DiMaggio’s historic 56-game hit streak ended on that day. It is a feat that is close to impossible to achieve by any big league player today.
Along with the Yankees, the Red Sox have some history of their own from 1941. Hall of Famer Ted Williams batted an incredible .406 average on the season. This was, however, not well-known to many at the time because DiMaggio stole a lot of the nation’s attention with his streak.
With that being said, add the fact that this is David Ortiz’s final ride in Major League Baseball, and with the Red Sox being in the hunt for the AL East crown and the New York Yankees looking to avoid their 1st losing season since 1992, this game had all the heat it needed going in.
David Price was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox. Going into the game last night, he was 9-6 with a 4.34 ERA. He was facing off against Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees, who was 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA as he looked to help his team avoid a series sweep against Boston.
Boston scored first, and it did not take long. Dustin Pedroia hit a home run off of Tanaka, smacking one over the wall in left field. Boston took this 1-0 lead into the home half of the 4th inning. With 1 out and Didi Gregorius on first base, Yankee 2nd baseman Starlin Castro hit an RBI double that tied the game at 1. With 2 outs that same inning, Yankees’ catcher Austin Romine smacked one up the middle that deflected off of the glove of Boston’s Pedroia and made its way into center field, scoring Castro from 2nd. But the Yankees were not done yet. With Romine at 2nd and Brent Gardner at first, former Red Sox player Jacoby Ellsbury hit a soft line drive into center field, scoring Romine and giving New York the 3-1 lead.
In the top of the 9th, the Yankees had the 3-1 lead and it was time to shut the door on the Red Sox. They called on the hardest throwing pitcher in baseball, Aroldis Chapman. David Ortiz had never faced off against Chapman before, but with 1 out he got his chance. It was an amazing battle between two of the best in the game. Ortiz singled, and the Red Sox called on a pinch runner. Hanley Ramirez, however, hit into the game-ending double play, giving the Yankees the 3-1 win.
Price took the loss, dropping to 9-7, while Tanaka improved to 7-2. Chapman was awarded the save. The Red Sox fall to 51-39 and are now 2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East division. The Yankees improve to 45-46 and are now 5.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays, who currently hold the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Next week’s edition of Sunday Night Baseball will be at Busch Stadium in St. Louis as the Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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