BOSTON — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (36-36) climb back to .500 with their sixth win in seven tries (and fourth straight), hanging on to beat the Yankees, 4-3, behind a solid Hunter Dobbins performance and an escape by closer-for-the-day Greg Weissert in the ninth:
1) Dobbins, who made headlines all week, said his only focus was on beating the Yankees when the lights came on Saturday. He did just that, tossing six shutout innings and allowing just two hits. Dobbins struck out five and walked a single batter.
Before the game, Alex Cora hinted the Red Sox would manage Dobbins aggressively because of his struggles the third time through the order (hitters entered with a .974 OPS in that line). Cora followed through by lifting Dobbins after 82 pitches and going to Luis Guerrero with a four-run lead in the seventh. Dobbins improved to 4-1 with the win.
2) It’s fair to say the Red Sox are officially rolling at this point. With three straight series wins, four victories in five games against the first-place Yankees and six wins in seven games, they’re back to .500 at 36-36. It’s one step toward contention, but an important one. Boston hasn’t been at .500 since May 24, when they were 27-27.
3) It was Weissert, and not Aroldis Chapman, who was called upon for the save with a two-run lead in the ninth. Chapman had been used five times in the last seven days, so he was unavailable.
Things got dicey. Paul Goldschmidt doubled, then scored thanks to back-to-back groundouts to second base. Then, with two outs, Jasson Domínguez doubled the other way, putting the tying run in scoring position. Austin Wells gave a Weissert pitch a ride, but Ceddanne Rafaela caught it on the warning track to end the game.
4) As Trevor Story goes, so do the Red Sox. Story had two doubles in the win (including an RBI two-bagger), continuing a hot start to June. He’s hitting .319 (15-for-47) with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs and an .892 OPS this month.
5) Cora is going to play Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez against left-handed pitchers, no matter what, and they showed why. Refsnyder led off the first inning with the double, scored, then added a single in the third. Gonzalez had an RBI double in the fifth. Against southpaws, the pair of right-handed hitters seems to contribute every time.
6) Marcelo Mayer’s defense continues to shine. He made back-to-back stellar plays behind Dobbins in the righty’s final inning of work in the sixth, ranging behind the third base bag to backhand an Aaron Judge grounder before coming in and throwing Ben Rice out on an inning-ending chopper.
7) On a night when the Red Sox didn’t have any rallies and instead scored a single run in four different innings, small things made a difference. One that stood out? Kristian Campbell showing an immense amount of hustle to score from first base on Gonzalez’s opposite-field double in the fifth. Campbell is athletic but only ranks in the 49th percentile in the league when it comes to sprint speed. He upped it a level in that spot.
8) For the second straight night, the Red Sox benefited from horrendous Yankees baserunning in a big spot. Saturday’s culprit was Domínguez, who wandered off second base with two outs in the seventh inning and was promptly picked off by Carlos Narváez. It appears Domínguez thought Justin Wilson’s second strike to Trent Grisham was an inning-ending third strike. It was not.
9) Campbell, who has ranked as one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game this year, committed an error to open the game. It’s no coincidence Cora keeps lifting him for David Hamilton late in games lately. That happened after just six innings in this one.
10) The Sox have now gotten five consecutive starts of at least six innings to start their homestand, which is no small thing. Dobbins’ night was also unique in some ways. The last time a Red Sox rookie went 6+ scoreless innings with two or fewer hits allowed was Clay Buchholz when he threw his no-hitter in 2007. Coincidentally, Buchholz was in the house Saturday. The last Red Sox rookie to accomplish the feat was Dana Kiecker, who went seven shutout innings and allowed two hits in 1990.
11) The Red Sox will face a tough task in Sunday’s series finale when they take on Yankees ace Max Fried (9-1, 1.84) for the first time this year. Righty Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96 ERA) will start for Boston. It’s, for once, not a primetime Sunday game between the rivals. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET and the game’s on NESN.
