Trailing for most of Thursday evening at Fenway Park before tying the game with two outs in the ninth inning, the Boston Red Sox were able to rally past New York 5-4 in the 10th thanks to a record-breaking performance … by the Yankees.
Toeing the rubber for New York with a one-run lead in the 10th inning after right-hander Chad Green coughed up a two-run advantage in the ninth to send the game to extra frames, 27-year-old reliever Brooks Kriske quickly let the Red Sox tie by throwing a wild pitch that let automatic runner Rafael Devers move to third base before sending him home with a pitch in the dirt.
The next batter, Xander Bogaerts, walked, and then moved to second and later third after two more wild pitches. Kriske was able to get an out, but then gave up a sacrifice fly to Hunter Renfroe that sent Bogaerts home and gifted the Red Sox their third straight victory.
The loss snapped New York’s four-game winning streak and etched Kriske’s name in the record books in a number of places, none of them good.
To go along with the four wild pitches, Kriske’s final state line was one hit, one run and one strikeout. Kriske, who earned his first career win Wednesday night against the Phillies, now boasts a laughable ERA of 10.80 after the blown save.
“It was just one of those nights I wasn’t executing. It’s not fun. There’s a lot of guys battling their butts off and it sucks to be the one to blow it for the team,” Kriske told reporters. “Just pure execution. It’s part of the game. Obviously, I’ve got to do a better job. I want to be someone the team can rely on in big spots. It’s something I’m gonna have to do better… It sucks to be the one to blow it for the team.”
In a move that everyone saw coming, the Yankees optioned Kriske to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following the game. While it may not be soon, we’d expect to see him back in the majors at some point this season.
“Another gut-punch. An out away there,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “It certainly stings on a long night here. But we also have to get over this. In this stretch of baseball where we’ve won a lot of games, we’ve had some incredibly tough losses like tonight.”
He’s not kidding …
The Red Sox and Yankees will resume their four-game series tonight in Boston and finish up on Sunday. Boston is one game up on Tampa Bay, who traded with the Twins for slugger Nelson Cruz yesterday, in the AL East. The third-place Yankees, who have lost eight of 10 to the Red Sox this season, are eight games back in the division.
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