Red Sox strike first in ALDS Game 4, take 3-0 lead

And closer Craig Kimbrel – one of the most statistically dominant closers in baseball history – came in for the ninth, his usual domain of dominance, and don’t you know it, he nearly gave it away. “Our fans are unbelievable, especially in the postseason”.

In possibly his final start of a 10-year run with the Yankees, Sabathia allowed three runs on five hits in three innings.

“It’s unbelievable”, adds Didi Gregorius of the Stadium atmosphere. Perhaps most surprisingly, he gave Vazquez a second straight start behind the plate instead of Sandy Leon, even thoughVazquez hadn’t caught Porcello all season. “It’s been an unbelievable atmosphere when we play here at home”.

The Red Sox now go on to face the defending-champion Astros in the ALCS, which starts Saturday night in Boston. The Yankees were a flawless 7-0 at Yankee Stadium in the postseason since the 2017 wild-card game, winning those games by an aggregate margin of 42-14.

“We played a really hard season, we managed to win 100 games and then we get to this point and we just can’t finish off a series against the Red Sox”.

Prior to the Yankees Wild Card win over the A’s, Pedro Martinez, who works as an analyst for TBS, took time out of the broadcast to let the world know that Severino made him aware that he wasn’t completely healthy during the second half of the regular season – and that the club needed him on the mound, hence his decline in productivity. But if you ask the veterans, well, it’s a new experience for them, too.

This might be it for CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner in Yankees uniforms. The Yankees fail to reach the ALCS after falling just shy of reaching the World Series previous year. “I think our bullpen did a fine job during the postseason. I don’t know what happened, but now, you can see guys are uncomfortable coming here to play”.

On Severino’s night went, as Aaron Boone barreled on in what quickly turned into full disregard of caution or urgency. “I scooted up in the box a little bit, and I was going to be swinging at anything and try to hook anything”.

There was sizable risk in that move, given that if it didn’t work, either the Red Sox would have to bring back Sale on one day of rest to pitch Game 5 on Thursday, or turn to David Price, who was one of just two Red Sox pitchers who had a bad series (Eduardo Rodriguez being the other). “Hopefully, we can go out there and give them reason to keep building as the game unfolds”. Sabathia appealed a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball that would not take effect until next season.

We posted the first missed call above.

With the stakes at their highest, however, the Yankees never left the yard in two home games versus Boston.