Yankees fail to lock up postseason spot

If Tanaka pitches well that day, the Yankees will be on even footing with the rest of the playoff teams. Mookie Betts, defensive hero of the previous day, did a soft shoe in the outfield and the ball dropped in for a hit. Betts led off with his 42nd double as six of the first seven hitters reached. Betts scored to put Boston ahead quickly. The closest they came was with two on and two out in the bottom of the fourth, when Ellsbury hit a ball that was caught by Holt up against the right field fence. Bogaerts stopped at third base. Bogie slid in just before the tag of Brian McCann. The Yankees challenged the call but it was upheld on review. Potentially, that could be a meaningful series with playoff implications, as the Indians are trying to make a last-second run at the final AL Wild Card berth. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double, and a single by Gardner moved him to third.

Alex Rodriguez is too important to this team. New York then got right back in the game with a 2-run dinger by Dustin Ackley, cutting their deficit to 6-4 after just one frame. “We’re playing the way the Boston Red Sox are supposed to play baseball”. Fortunately for Boston, this would not do any damage.

First of all, if Ramirez wanted to be with his teammates, he could have squawked about the decision and he’d be here.

With his father and brother among dozens of supporters in the stands, Rick Porcello certainly didn’t want to get knocked out in the first inning.

Then, as if the first had never happened, the zeroes started piling up.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Asdrubal Cabrera hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, a one-out drive off Bryan Morris (5-4), to push the Rays to 12-6 in interleague play this season.

The teams will play a traditional doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Pitching coach Carl Willis came to the mound at that point and was direct with Porcello.

Pineda finally stopped the bleeding when Deven Marrero grounded out to shortstop Didi Gregorius, drawing sarcastic applause from the meager Stadium crowd.

The 2015 season isn’t going to go down as one to remember, but these final two months have given Red Sox fans a reason to hope.

David Ortiz was next and he lined a slider off the wall in right field, just missing a home run. If Rich Hill can carry this over to 2016, that begins to solve the puzzle of the Boston rotation by dropping into their laps a sneaky-good fifth starter. With two out, Holt drew a walk off Mitchell.

Duda hit a two-run shot off Ken Giles on an 0-2 pitch in the ninth before Giles retired Travis d’Arnaud for his 14th save in 18 chances. Boston now enjoyed a five-run cushion with the 9-4 advantage. However, Gardy was not on first, so Ellsbury scored and there was no double play. They started to work the changeup into the mix.

Dustin Ackley capped off the first-inning outburst with a two-run homer, his fourth in 19 games since joining the Yankees at the trade deadline. After a Pedroia fly out, and an infield single by Bogaerts, the bases were loaded with just one out.

Rodriguez hasn’t homered in 13 games, batting.147 over that stretch after going 1 for 7 in this series. The Yankees will try again tomorrow at 7:05 EST when Masahiro Tanaka will take the mound against Wade Miley. Swihart is the youngest Red Sox catcher with a multi-homer game in 50 years.

It worked. Lovullo chatted with the president and they took a photo.

The left-hander is 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA over his last seven starts on the road since a win at Toronto on July 2.

But his third stint with the Red Sox? “The last couple weeks, that’s something that we’ve been talking about”.