Judge passes DiMaggio, Yankees take opener in Boston

Boston—The Yankees took down the Red Sox 4-1 in game one of this three-game set. Luis Gil got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Lucas Giolito. 

Aaron Judge launched a solo bomb over the Green Monster in the top of the first inning, his 47th of the year and No. 362 of his career to pass Joe DiMaggio for fourth all-time on the Yankees home run list and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. It was also the 19th first-inning home run this year for Judge, the most in a single season in MLB history. 

"I'm just trying to go out here and do my job," Judge said. "We've got a great ballclub. You know, I'm lucky to wear these pinstripes every single night. And I get a chance to represent the Yankees, New York City. It's a special opportunity that I don't take lightly. And, you know, I'm just happy we came away with a win." 

"At this point, it's getting normal with him,” Jazz said regarding Judge. “But at the same time, I feel like it gets us super hyped up. He brings the energy. Everybody thinks he's really calm, but he's really crazy, in my eyes at least.”

Gil worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning on just nine pitches. 

In the top of the second inning, Jazz led things off with a single to left field, then swiped second base, his 29th stolen base of the year. Jazz was then thrown out trying to steal third. 

Judge worked a two-out walk in the top of the third inning, and Ben Rice then reached on a catcher's interference. Cody Bellinger followed that up with an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game. 

Gil retired the Red Sox in order in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a beautiful diving play from Jazz. 

Gil walked back-to-back hitters in the bottom of the fifth inning, then balked both runners into scoring position. Gil picked up a strikeout and a lineout to help work into and out of trouble. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Gil worked around a walk and a throwing error from Jazz, thanks to his fourth strikeout of the game, to get through six no-hit innings. 

José Caballero bounced a ground rule double into the stands in right field with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Caballero then swiped third base, his Major League-leading 46th stolen base of the season. Caballero then scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ryan McMahon to make it 3-0; McMahon moved up to second base on an E4. A couple of batters later, Rice came through with a two-out RBI single, making it a 4-0 game. 

Fernando Cruz replaced Gil in the bottom of the seventh inning and gave up a solo home run to Nate Eaton to make it a 4-1 game and end the Yankees ' no-hit bid. 

Luis Gils' final line: Six innings pitched, zero hits allowed, zero earned runs, four walks, 10 swings and misses, and four strikeouts on 93 pitches. Gil threw his fastball 46% of the time, the changeup 38%, and the slider 16% of the time. Gil was dominant today, not allowing any hits. The walks were a bit of a concern as usual, but walks dont matter if you don’t give up any hits. 

"It's easy to lose your focus on the mound," Gil said. "So you have to stay locked in. You know, the offense was great tonight, came out early and produced, and you know, Austin Wells behind the plate did a great job."

"It's been huge," Judge said on having Gil back in the rotation. "We were missing him early on in the year. But you know, having a guy like that, you know, he's a Rookie of the Year for a reason. You know, he got in some tough situations this game and was able to pitch himself out of it. And that's what you do when you're a great pitcher."

In the top of the eighth inning, Giancarlo Stanton worked a lead-off walk. Jazz then singled, but it hit off of Jasson Dominguez, who pinch ran for Stanton, so Dominguez was ruled out. Jazz then swiped second base, his second stolen base of the night and 30th of the year. Jazz was able to move up to third on a wild pitch, then Austin Wells worked a walk. Caballero then sent a fly ball to right field, and Jazz tried to tag up but was gunned down at the plate to end the inning. 

Devin Williams replaced Cruz in the bottom of the eighth inning and worked around a leadoff single to put together a scoreless inning thanks to a beautiful play from McMahon at third base. 

McMahon led off the top of the ninth inning with a bunt single, and the next batter, Trent Grisham, reached via an E4. However, Judge bounced into a double play, and Paul Goldschmidt, who replaced Rice on defense, grounded out. 

The Yankees' closer, David Bednar, was called upon to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning and retired the Red Sox in order with a couple of strikeouts to end this one 4-1. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow with Max Fried on the mound, facing off against Brayan Bello. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Gil continues to dominate on the mound; he had to work around base runners all night long due to his four walks and a couple of errors. Judge hit an absolute moonshot to get the Yankees offense started 468 feet away. Jazz had a couple of hits and stolen bases tonight, but he also had two mistakes on the base paths, getting caught stealing in the second inning and getting thrown out at the plate in the eighth. Rice and Belli both had RBI knocks tonight, and Caballero manufactured a run himself by stealing third and hustling home on a ground ball. The bullpen did their job picking up the final nine outs tonight. Cruz served up a home run, but Williams and Bednar both worked scoreless frames. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to win the series.