Jazz, Belli power Yankees past Red Sox 5–3 for series victory

Boston—The Yankees took down the Red Sox 5-3 to win their first series against the Sox this year and improve to a season high 18 games above .500 at 83-65. Max Fried got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Brayan Bello.

A pitch hit Trent Grisham to lead off the ballgame, Ben Rice followed that up with a ground rule double to set the Yankees up with two runners in scoring positions with nobody out. Aaron Judge worked a walk to load the bases, then Cody Bellinger gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead thanks to a sacrifice fly. The next batter, Jazz Chisholm Jr., came through with a swinging bunt RBI single to make it 2-0. 

In the bottom of the first inning, Fried worked around a single and a walk to put together a scoreless frame. 

Fried wiggled out of a second and third one-out jam in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a pair of strikeouts. 

Judge worked his second walk of the game to lead off the top of the third inning, Belli followed that up with a line drive single to center, Judge moved up to third on a hit and run. The next batter, Jazz, delivered his second RBI single of the game, making it 3-0. 

With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Jazz launched a solo home run, his 29th of the year, to make it a 4-0 game. Jazz is now one home run shy of becoming the third Yankee ever to have a 30/30 season. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Alex Bregman got a run back for the Red Sox on a 316-foot home run, one of the shortest home runs you will ever see, making it a 4-1 game. 

Fired surrendered three straight singles in the bottom of the sixth inning, one of which was an RBI single from Connor Wong to cut the Yankees' lead to 4-2. Luke Weaver took over for Fried on the mound and picked up two huge strikeouts to strand two runners on base. Weaver was hyped up after working out of trouble. 

"Yeah, I mean, that's a playoff atmosphere right there," Weaver said. "That's a huge matchup, huge game, a lot on the line. And it just takes me back to some of those moments last year, late, and just kind of fuel the crowd and just use it to your advantage and just try to make big pitches and try to get on the right side of it." 

Max Fried's final line: 5.1 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, two earned runs, two walks, 11 swings and misses, and six strikeouts on 105 pitches. Fried threw his sinker 21% of the time, the curveball 20%, the cutter 19%, the changeup 16%, the fastball 16%, the sweeper 7%, and the slider 1% of the time. Fried was solid today; he just gave up way too many hits, but did a great job of working around traffic all game long and holding the Red Sox to just two runs. 

Devin Williams replaced Weaver in the bottom of the seventh inning and worked a 1-2-3 inning. 

Jasson Dominguez lined a one-out single to left field in the top of the eighth, followed by a ground rule double from José Caballero. However, Austin Wells struck out, and Ryan McMahon grounded out to strand two runners on base. 

Fernando Cruz came in to replace Williams in the bottom of the eighth inning and served up a home run to Jarren Duran, making it a 4-3 game. 

In the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Judge lined a single up the middle, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. The next batter, Belli, came through with a huge RBI double to tack on an insurance run, making it 5-3. 

“Yeah, honestly, just grinding it out,” Belli said. “You know, Judgey, really good at bat in front of me, and really just pass the baton mentality. Jazz behind me, he's red hot, and just having fun, you know? What a great atmosphere it is here, and we're playing good baseball, so we're just trying to roll and keep it going.”

The Yankees' closer, David Bednar, was called upon to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning and retired the Red Sox in order to give the Yankees the win as well as the series win. 

"I mean, it's our playoff push stretch, you know, the playoffs coming up, this is when our real season starts," Jazz said. "This is when we really start to put it together and go and try to win a championship right now."

The Yankees will go for the sweep tomorrow with Will Warren on the mound, facing off against Garrett Crochet. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

My thoughts on the game: Unfortunately, the Orioles blew a two-run lead against the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth inning and were walked off, so the Yankees did not move in closer to the Jays in the standings. Fried did his job, giving the Yankees a solid start and handing the bullpen a two-run lead. Jazz and Belli produced all the runs today as Belli had two RBI, including arguably the at-bat of the year for the Yankees, working a nine-pitch at-bat against Aroldis Chapman, who has been one of the best closers in baseball this year. Jazz also had three hits and RBIs and is now one swing away from a 30 home run, 30 stolen base season. The bullpen did its job. Cruz gave up a home run for a third game in a row. But Bednar, Weaver, and Williams were awesome tonight. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will go for the sweep, but with Crochet starting for the Red Sox, I wouldn't bet on it. 

"I just like where we're at right now as a team, playing is fun, playing good baseball," Belli said. "And you know, what a great place to play. You know the atmosphere has been insane, and you know a few weeks left. So we're just having fun and playing our best baseball, continuing to try to do that."