BoSox romp Yankees 14-1 in first real test
If there was any doubt before, it’s squashed now, as Mookie Betts and Alex Cora are the newest perfect manager and outfielder tandem. As a bench coach in Houston, Cora had watched Betts would lay off the first pitch in the first 2 at bats, then, seemingly would always swing at the first one during his 3rd AB. When Cora first got the job in Boston, he talked to Betts and told him that if he was more aggressive, he’d get more pitches to hit and have better seasons as a result. Nobody can argue with the result after yesterday. Betts went 4-5 with a walk, scoring 5 runs, a Grand slam, and 4 RBIS, becoming only the second player to do that against the Yankees, after Ken Griffey Jr.. Betts started the Sox offense early, and on the second pitch of the game, hit a screaming double to left- center field, and scored two batters later, when Hanley Ramirez grabbed his 9th RBI in the still young season. Ramirez would grab 2 more in following innings, combining with Betts for 6 runs and 7 RBIs on the night. Betts would go on, scorching a single in the second, taking a walk 2 innings later, and in the sixth, he started with a double, and then brought the Fenway crowd to its feet for a party with a grand slam off reliever Jason Shrieve.
The Red Sox as a team continued to make history last night, a trait so strong in the system, that even the Pawsox, the AAA affiliate of the Red Sox based in Pawtucket played the first minor league game in extra innings under the new pace of play rules with a runner starting on 2nd base for both teams in every extra inning played. For the Red Sox, they extend their best start of the season in their history, at 9-1, and the 9-run 6th inning last night was their biggest run-scoring inning since they scored 11 in the 3rd inning of the May 31, 1998 game that the sox won 13-4.
For anyone who had any doubts about the season and the Red Sox about the Yankees, the doubts are gone, because in the early season, the Yankee’s prize pickup Giancarlo “Strikeout” Stanton has an 8-1 strikeout to HR ratio, while Mookie Betts leads the league with a .432 average. Figures to be a great season, so keep track of the sox and have some fun!