BOSTON -- The Yankees embarked upon their first Fenway Park visit of the year speaking optimistically about how this series was going to be different, seeking to avenge a three-game sweep by the Red Sox earlier in the month.
Indeed, the Bombers punched back after three first-inning runs crossed the plate, but the momentum soon shifted in Boston’s favor once again. Domingo Germán fumbled an easy grounder for a costly error and Gio Urshela was thrown out at home plate on a questionable send in the Yankees’ 5-3 loss on Friday evening.
“Unfortunately, things have not worked out the way we wanted,” Miguel Andújar said through an interpreter. “But at the same time, we understand we have more games. There’s always another game tomorrow. We’ve got to come back.”
Germán recovered after surrendering Xander Bogaerts’ two-run double and a Hunter Renfroe RBI knock in the first inning, but his inability to cleanly handle Rafael Devers’ one-out, third-inning tapper loomed large. Renfroe delivered a sacrifice fly to bring home the unearned run, giving Boston its second lead.
“It was a bad day for me today,” Germán said through an interpreter. “It’s very frustrating. It’s hard to find the answers right after the game. I would say the consistency behind the pitches and what I want to do out there hasn’t been there.”
It was a festive night at Fenway, packed with a sellout crowd of 36,869 on hand to laud Dustin Pedroia’s career in a pregame retirement ceremony. Joe Torre used to say that “no lead is safe at Fenway Park,” and when DJ LeMahieu’s two-run single highlighted a three-run second, another high-powered affair seemed to be in sight.
New York threatened in the fourth. Urshela ripped a leadoff double and Andújar followed with a single to right field. Though Urshela had missed the last two games with a sore left shin that curtailed his running ability, third-base coach Phil Nevin thought Urshela had a good enough jump to score.
Renfroe fired a seed to home plate, nailing Urshela by about five feet for his Major League-leading 11th outfield assist. The Yankees have made 33 outs on the bases and 15 at home plate, both of which lead the Majors.
“I honestly didn’t even think [Renfroe] was going to make a throw on that play,” Nevin said. “There’s no excuse. You can’t get the guy thrown out there. Even if you think you see something, you’ve got to err on the side of caution with nobody out. I’ll be thinking about that all night, for sure.”
Ninth life
Though reliever Jonathan Loaisiga made history by becoming the third Yankee to record four strikeouts in an inning, joining A.J. Burnett (2011) and Phil Hughes (2012), the Yanks’ bats went largely silent after Urshela was tagged out at home plate.
Hirokazu Sawamura, Garrett Whitlock and Adam Ottavino combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, permitting only Gary Sánchez’s fifth-inning walk and Andújar’s sixth-inning single.
Facing closer Matt Barnes in the ninth, Urshela legged out an infield single and Andújar punched his third hit of the night, giving the Yankees runners at first and second with none out. Clint Frazier has not dropped a successful sacrifice bunt since he was with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks in 2016.
“We were playing for the win,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Fraz, I wouldn’t ever rule out the bunt with him, because I do feel like it’s in there and something that he works on, but it’s … not a ‘push the button and it’s automatically executed.’ Especially on the road, it’s not a consideration in that spot.”
Frazier struck out in an eight-pitch at-bat and LeMahieu chopped the first pitch he saw from Barnes on the ground, beginning a game-ending double play.
Ouch and out
Yankees left-hander Zack Britton sustained an injury to his left hamstring in the eighth inning, leaving the field in obvious discomfort after spiking a 2-2 sinker to Renfroe. It has been a difficult season for Britton, who missed the first 63 games while recovering from left elbow surgery performed in March.
“Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious,” Boone said. “I definitely feel for Britt in that spot, knowing what he’s been through to get back.”
Luis Cessa inherited a full count to Renfroe, losing him to a walk charged to Britton’s ledger, then permitted a run-scoring Christian Vázquez single. The Yankees have lost their first four games to the Red Sox for the first time since 2009, when they started their most recent championship year 0-8 vs. Boston.
“We want to win games,” Andújar said. “We want to be as competitive as we can from the first inning.”