Boston Red Sox’s Justin Turner hits a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball … [+]
The Boston Red Sox did not outwardly say it and most teams would not, instead opting to say how important it was to take care of business to keep pace in a tight expanded playoff race.
Somewhere in their psyche the Red Sox reveled in not only keeping an August hot streak going but also in the very strong possibility they put the finishing touches on a Yankee season that has gone up in flames with an eight-game losing streak.
It is a skid that that is compared only to 1995 because it was the last time it happened (Aug. 19-26, 1995). It is a skid that gets referenced in fact only and not because the Yankees appear capable of storming through a massive hot streak to reach the playoffs like Buck Showalter’s final team in the Bronx did.
And in an totally appropriate matter given the trajectories of the teams, the ninth inning of Sunday afternoon came down to drastically different types of hitters in proven veteran Justin Turner and extremely light-hitting catcher Ben Rortvedt.
The most pivotal moments occurred after the Yankees executed a good play with Isiah Kiner-Falefa running from first base right as Anthony Volpe made contact on a single to left field. Kiner-Falefa was sent home when left fielder Rob Refsnyder slipped and in a close play at the plate was initially called safe before the Red Sox challenged and saw the review go in their favor.
Then in a predictable scenario with a runner on second, Turner shortened up his swing and laced a double to easily to score the go-ahead run and raised his batting average to .372 with runners in scoring position, an impressive number for any hitter but someone who is 38 years old.
“I probably should feel like there’s runners in scoring position every at-bat,” Turner joked while also quipping how getting those type of hits dulls the pain of a bone bruise in his left heel.
While a bone bruise is painful it hardly meant anything in terms of Turner sitting out given the magnitude of the games the Red Sox are playing where they are not three games out of the last wild card spot.
Boston Red Sox’s Justin Turner, right, hugs Rafael Devers after a baseball game against the New York … [+]
“He’s grinding right now,” manager Alex Cora said. “I texted him this morning. He’s like, ‘I’m good, bro, I’ll play.’ For him to just go out there and play for us, it means a lot. He put good at-bats. The walk early on, then the homer, then the line drive to right field. He’s a good hitter. He’s a great leader. I’m glad he’s playing for us.”
A little while later, Ben Rortvedt came up with two on against Kenley Jansen, who later describe his longtime teammate as a “gamer”.
It is hard to believe an .098 hitter would be batting with two on as a potential final out with the tying and winning runs on base but Rortvedt was there because Giancarlo Stanton did not start and the Yankees took a shot with him as a pinch hitter in the seventh of a tie game.
In reality it is hard to comprehend because of research. According to OptaStats, no one hitting that low with at least 40 at-bats had been up in that situation in the past 50 seasons.
It is a apt way to sum up things between the Red Sox, whom in manager Aaron Boone’s words have kicked their “butts” and the Yankees.
The Red Sox were expecting someone hitting well over .300 with runners in scoring position in an accomplished career. The Yankees were hoping for the best out of someone to someone hitting well under .200 overall because they were out of moves.
As a result the Red Sox were left to celebrate the exploits of someone Jansen referred to as “Mr. Clutch” while the Yankees were left to express their latest display of frustration with every loss that is drawing comparisons to the last time it happened.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, center, argues a call with home plate umpire Junior Valentine, right, … [+]
“Getting swept by these guys is definitely tough,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Every day, we’ve got to show up and do our job; just find ways to get better and whatever happens, happens. But this can’t be happening.”
If the skid reaches nine, the Yankees will be on their first such skid since 1982, which is so long ago that Billy Martin had only completed two of his five managerial stints with the Yankees.
The 1995 skid was in a 144-game season and dropped the Yankees from a half-game back to a 5 1/2 back before the they pulled off a massive 26-7 finish to get Don Mattingly into the playoffs for the first time.
In 1995, the Yankees hit no lower than .254 in any month. These days, the Yankees have higher than .254 once in any month since the end of the 2019 season and that was when they hit .263 in July 2022 while racing out to a 61-28 start before barely playing .500 the rest of the way.
“We’ve got to be unbelievable the rest of the way, so it’s not even about that,” manager Boone said on the one-year anniversary of his slamming the podium with his hand.
The Yankees will soon find out if they can play at an unbelievable clip the rest of the way. So far the evidence does not exist leading to not only the playoffs being watched on television but a losing record for the first time since 1992.