Yankees lose heartbreaker to Red Sox as nightmare scenario unravels at Fenway Park
BOSTON – In any other year, Sunday afternoon’s game might easily qualify as the Yankees’ worst loss of the season.
But in 2021, you wonder if it was their worst loss of the weekend.
Either way, the Red Sox’s 5-4 win was a stunner and a heartbreaker for the Yankees due to the circumstances at Fenway Park and their dire place in the AL East standings.
Domingo German took a no-hitter and a four-run lead into the eighth inning, and he exited after Alex Verdugo’s leadoff double over right fielder Greg Allen’s head.
There were cheers and handshakes in the visitors' dugout for German as Jonathan Loaisiga entered the game, but there was that old axiom hanging in the air: No lead is safe at Fenway Park.
Loaisiga could not retire any of the four Red Sox he faced, yielding hits to Hunter Renfroe (RBI double), Christian Vazquez (RBI single), Franchy Cordero and Enrique Hernandez (RBI double).
Entering with runners at second and third, Zack Britton yielded the tying run on pinch-hitter Kevin Plawecki’s groundout to shortstop.
The go-ahead run scored on Xander Bogaerts’ medium-depth sacrifice fly to right, with Hernandez skidding across the plate with an aggressive head-first slide.
Matt Barnes stranded the tying run on second base in the ninth, getting Rougned Odor on a pop out to the delight of 32,009 fans – nearly silent for the first seven innings Sunday.
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The Yankees (51-47) arrived here seven games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox (61-39) and they exited nine games back after dropping three of four games in this series.
After Monday’s off day, the Yankees open a three-game series at Tampa Bay against the Rays, who awoke Sunday tied for first place with Boston.
And, oh by the way, MLB’s trade deadline is Friday at 4 p.m., and the Yankees still haven’t taken on the look of a genuine contender.
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Try and figure out these 2021 Yankees.
They came back from the All-Star break with six players on the COVID list – led by Aaron Judge – and placed Luke Voit on the injured list, then slept through a loss to the first-place Red Sox.
Next, the inspired Yankees arrived at Fenway Park on a four-game winning streak fueled by players recently toiling at Triple-A.
After that, two straight devastating losses.
Aaron Boone’s club blew a two-run lead with two-out in the ninth and lost in 10th, when Brooks Kriske unleashed a franchise record four wild pitches in one inning.
Ace Gerrit Cole lasted just five innings, worn down by the Red Sox in their 6-2 win Friday.
Through seven innings Saturday, the Yankees’ 2021 season appeared on life support with Nathan Eovaldi cruising with a 3-0 lead – until the Yanks suddenly revived and rallied to a 4-3 win.
And then…
German, who had posted a 7.00 ERA over his last 10 appearances, yielded just one hit and one walk Sunday, striking out 10 Red Sox.
The right-hander needed four strikeouts to finish the seventh inning, due to Bogaerts reaching on a Gary Sanchez passed ball.
By then, the Yanks had taken a 4-0 lead – three of the runs scoring against lefty starter Martin Perez, who lasted six innings.
Odor had an RBI single and a homer, and Gio Urshela – back in the lineup after missing eight games due to COVID – smashed an RBI single off the Green Monster.
And in the eighth, Sanchez tripled off the center field wall – just his second career MLB three-base hit – and was driven home by Gleyber Torres’ single.
Soon, that 4-0 lead and German’s no-hit bid would be history.
Email: caldera@northjersey.com Twitter: @pcaldera