First, let me say that although we didn’t sweep the Red Sox and ended the series tied with them for first place, having briefly overtaken them on Wednesday night, the games in this series at Yankee Stadium were great games. I enjoyed each one, even though they weren’t blowouts (my favorite, when we win, of course). Even in last night’s loss, there was always a sense that the Yanks would stage a comeback and they did. It just wasn’t enough after the homer off Betances.
CC didn’t have his best stuff last night and didn’t last long. And the truth is, he’s never been very good against the Red Sox – at least not in my memory. But aside from Severino’s great start, this series was all about the bullpen. They kept the Yankees in every game just long enough to give them a chance to score runs, and Chapman locked down save after save.
Everybody contributed in some way. I wish Hicks would get his bat going and I’m not sure Tyler Austin is ready for prime time and I do wish Gary Sanchez would cut down on the passed balls, but Gardner finally got hot. The lineup, top to bottom, is capable of doing damage at any time, especially late in games.
All in all, while last night’s finale was disappointing, the series was nail-biting fun with high energy in the crowd and among the players. You could feel it.
Now, I hope there’s no letdown for the series against the A’s. That can happen after a charged Red Sox series, but maybe this team of young players will keep the adrenaline flowing.