Red Sox reactions: Dustin May shelled (3 HRs) as Yankees avoid four-game sweep
Dustin May allowed three homers and didn't get through the fifth inning Sunday night at the Stadium. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images)Getty Images
Instant reactions as the Yankees hit Dustin May hard in a 7-2 result and the Red Sox (71-60) fail to finish off a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium:
1) The Yankees took out all of their frustrations from three straight losses on May. May was off from the start — he walked back-to-back batters to start his outing — and allowed five runs in 4 ⅔ innings. May allowed three homers, including two to leadoff man Trent Grisham. Jazz Chisholm Jr. also homered twice (though one was off Walker Buehler).
May walked three batters in what was his worst start as a member of the Red Sox. Alex Cora pulled him in the fifth after just 70 pitches. It represented a major step in the wrong direction for May, who had pitched well in his two prior outings. Boston’s need for contributions from May is even more stark with the uncertainty in the rotation spot behind him.
2) Buehler made his bullpen debut in the loss, taking over for Brennan Bernardino in the sixth. He struggled with the same issues he did as a starter: strike-throwing and home runs.
Buehler allowed two runs and two hits (including the second Chisholm homer) while walking a batter and striking out two in a 2 ⅓ inning appearance. He threw 35 pitches.
It was Buehler’s first regular season relief appearance since June 2018 and his 10th ever. His last bullpen outing, of course, was when he closed out Game 5 of the World Series in the Bronx last fall as a member of the Dodgers.
3) Boston’s bats did little all night. The Red Sox finished with only five hits (and three before the ninth inning).
Somewhat quietly, the Red Sox have a few hitters who are pretty cold. Jarren Duran, who was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, is one. He’s hitting .211 with a .669 OPS after a stellar run in July. Romy Gonzalez (0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout) has just a .675 OPS this month. Carlos Narváez is hitting .189 with a .619 August OPS despite a good game Saturday. Ceddanne Rafaela doubled Sunday but has hit just .189 with a .529 OPS this month.
4) Nathaniel Lowe might only have a handful of games with the Red Sox under his belt but it feels like there are few members of the lineup they’d rather have up in a big spot. After Carlos Rodón walked the bases loaded in the sixth, Lowe pinch-hit against Luke Weaver and delivered a two-run single with two outs and two strikes. He has seven RBIs in six games since joining the team.
Duran then struck out to end the inning so the Sox didn’t get any closer.
5) Jhostynxon Garcia’s quest for his first major league hit will continue. He walked and struck out in two plate appearances before being lifted for pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida in the seventh.
Because Yoshida played left field, the Red Sox had to shift Duran to right field for just the second time all year. He finished the game there.
6) The Red Sox finished 5-2 at Yankee Stadium this season. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak against the Yankees. The rivalry will be renewed in a few weeks when New York comes to Fenway Park for three games from September 12-15.
7) The Red Sox will take a short flight to Baltimore on Sunday night ahead of a four-game series against the last-place Orioles, who swept the Red Sox in a two-game series last week. Here’s the schedule (and probables):
Monday, 6:35 p.m. ET — LHP Brennan Bernardino (4-2, 2.93 ERA) vs. RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (10-5, 3.97 ERA)
Tuesday, 6:35 p.m. ET — RHP Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.72 ERA) vs. TBA
Wednesday, 6:35 p.m. ET — RHP Brayan Bello (10-6, 3.07 ERA) vs. TBA
Thursday, 1:05 p.m. ET — LHP Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.38 ERA) vs. LHP Cade Povich (2-7, 5.13 ERA)
