Three hits from Jones in return, but the Yankees fall 5-3 to the Red Sox
- Davis Cornell
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
The Red Sox took down the Yankees 5-3 in the first game of this three-game set. Ryan Weathers got the start for the Yankees and faced off against former Yankees Sonny Gray.
Weathers worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 top of the first inning on just six pitches.
With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Ben Rice crushed a hanging curveball deep to right field for a solo shot, his 18th homer of the year to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Spencer Jones sent a single up the middle with one out in the bottom of the second inning in his first at-bat since being recalled. Anthony Volpe followed by shooting a single of his own to right field, putting runners on first and second. However, Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells both flew out to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Weathers gave up back-to-back singles and walked a batter to load the bases with one out. The Red Sox tied the game on an RBI fielder's choice from Wilyer Abreu, then Willson Contreras gave them a 2-1 lead with an RBI infield single.
Andruw Monasterio extended the Red Sox's lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field.
Cody Bellinger led off the bottom of the fourth with a four-pitch walk, Jazz Chisholm Jr. bounced into a fielder's choice to take Bellinger's spot on first base. Jazz stole second base, then Jones drove him in with an RBI double down the first base line, making it a 3-2 game.
“He didn't get a lot of results the first go around,” Aaron Boone said of Jones. “But I think all of us that watched him, I thought was giving quality at-bats for the most part each day, and same was true tonight. And got some results with it, found some holes with some of the hits, and three hits out there, and I thought really put together some good at-bats.”
Weathers picked up the first two outs of the fifth, then a ball took a tough hop on Jazz and snuck into right field for a hit. The next batter, Contreras crushed a two-run home run that just stayed fair in left field to extend the Red Sox's lead to 5-2.
With two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Trent Grisham got one of those runs back with a solo home run into the second deck in right field to make it 5-3.
Weathers retired the Red Sox in order in the top of the sixth to put together a shutdown inning.
Paul Blackburn replaced Weathers on the mound in the top half of the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning.
Final line for Weathers: Six innings pitched, seven hits allowed, five earned runs, walked one, and struck out four on 93 pitches. He threw his fastball 31% of the time, the changeup 23%, the sweeper 19%, the slider 16%, and the sinker 11%. Weathers topped out at 97.9 on his heater, averaging 96.4 mph, and had eight swings and misses.
“Monasterio pulled a fastball down,” Weathers said. “Contreras put a good pass on it. Just missed locations. Just with the four-seam fastball. It's a very frustrating pitch for me right now. I've got to be better location wise and that's no wonder by myself. So I've gotta be better with my four-seam fastball.”
Blackburn came back out for the top of the eighth inning and retired the Red Sox in order to keep the Yankees' deficit at two runs.
In the bottom of the eighth, Paul Goldschmidt, Belli and Jazz went three up, three down on just four pitches.
Camilo Doval got the call for the top of the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning on nine pitches with a pair of strikeouts.
Max Schuemann pinch hit for Jones to lead off the bottom of the ninth and worked a four-pitch walk against former Yankee Aroldis Chapman. Amed Rosario pinch hit for Volpe and worked a four-pitch walk of his own, putting runners on first and second with one out. José Caballero pinch hit for Wells and flew out to and Grisham grounded out to end the ballgame and strand the tying run at first base.
The Yankees will look to even the series tomorrow with Will Warren on the mound, facing off against Ranger Suárez. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET on FOX.
My thoughts on the game: Weathers wasn't great tonight; he didn't get any help from Jazz in the fifth inning. He has to make that play, but it is still no excuse to give up a home run the next at-bat. Blackburn tossed two shutout innings; he has quietly put together a great season, now with a 2.89 ERA. Doval looked unhittable tonight; it seems like whenever the Yankees are losing and the pressure isn't as high, he puts together his best outings. Jones had a great game tonight, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and his first career extra-base hit, but they pinch hit for him in the ninth against the lefty Champan, which I understand, but I dont like it, let the kid play. Boone will probably reward Jones tomorrow by sitting him against the left-hander Suárez. Grisham and Rice each hit solo shots; the offense just couldn't do enough. And obviously, as I’m sure you all probably know, Judge was placed on the IL today with a stress fracture in his rib. He will be reevaluated in 4-6 weeks, meaning we probably won't see him again until mid-August. Another 0-for-3 night from Wells; he is now hitting .166 with a .533 OPS and is a complete waste of a roster spot. The Yankees need a new catcher. Giancarlo Stanton will take batting practise again tomorrow; I can’t wait for him to come back; this offense needs him. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to bounce back.
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