Jazz Chisholm responds to Hunter Dobbins
NEW YORK - It wasn't a walk-off. They did give up seven runs. And it only marked a second win in a row to land three games under .500.
Suggesting the Red Sox' 11-7 win over the Yankees Sunday night at Yankee Stadium was Alex Cora's club's biggest victory of the season to date might seem a bit hyperbolic. But a strong case can be made.
If nothing else, what this win did was finally offer the image of a club who can do better than just coming close when it counts. The Red Sox actually were presented with an invitation to sit at the American League's Big Boy Table and they sidled right up.
This wasn't Saturday night's win over a Yankees team that was flush with substitutes and second tier participants. This was a challenge against a club who was rolling out one of the AL's best pitchers in Carlos Rodon, with a full lineup and doing do with a dose of added motivation.
Before the game it was Jazz Chisholm who defined that the Yankees were fully intent on showing the Red Sox what's what on national television, responding to Sox starter Hunter Dobbins' declaration to the Boston Herald he wouldn't sign with the Yankees if they were the last major league team left via a spicy post on X.
Well, the Red Sox got the Yankees' smoke and proceeded to blow it back in their collective face.
The visitors would beat the hottest team in the majors since May 6, handing the Yankees just their seventh loss in the last 27 game games. It was also the first time New York had lost a home series since the first week of May.
And the Red Sox did it with pieces of their puzzle some believed were the reasons they wouldn't be able to hang with the division-leader.
The rookie starter, Dobbins, backed up with bravado, allowing the Red Sox to jump out to a lead over Rodon and the Yankees with five innings of three-run baseball.
The rookie infielder, Kristian Campbell, many were surmising would be the logical player to send out to Triple-A to make room for top prospect Roman Anthony, offered the first important wave of momentum via just his second extra-base hit since May 13 - a two-run, game-tying homer in the fifth inning.
Abraham Toro, a player that had chosen the Red Sox over the Yankees in the offseason, added three of his team's 12 hits, including one of the Sox's four home runs.
There was also the resurgence of Trevor Story, the shortstop whose struggles over the past month had exemplified the Red Sox' underachievement. With his two hits - including a homer - Story went 5-for-9 in the last two games and has now hit .320 with a .913 OPS in June.
And then we had the former Yankee, Carlos Narvaez, who punctuated a three-day visit where he became one of the chief storylines for the New York media with another building block for his case to be an All-Star, a game-changing three-run homer in the sixth inning. It drove Rodon from the game and launched the Red Sox into a different conversation ... at least for 24 hours.
"I was in my head a little bit to bunt there, to be honest," Narváez said. “I talked to [third-base coach Kyle Hudson]. I was like, ‘OK, I’m just going to be aggressive.’ And then that happened. I found myself in a two-strike approach, just put the ball in play. I’m happy I found some barrel and then we came back and won the game."
The one-day win highlighted what has been a bigger picture victory for the Red Sox when it comes to stealing away Narvaez.
"Narvy is a hard worker, a great teammate, one of the best we ever had over here," Aaron Judge told reporters. "I was sad to see him go, but excited for the opportunity he's getting right now. He's really doing his thing over there, swinging it well. He had a short time coming up with us for a little bit and the stuff I saw in Spring Training and stuff I heard about, everybody loved him. He outworked everybody in this room. So it doesn't surprise me he's having the success he is this year."
And to top things off, Rafael Devers did his Yankee Stadium thing once again, hitting his 30th career home run against the New Yorkers (the most of any active player).
The series win will mean little if the Red Sox don't find a way to find their first three-game win streak the end of April, or at least take their next series against the suddenly resurgent Rays.
But considering where the Red Sox have found themselves, and the manner they put themselves in this situation, Sunday night offered some hope. And that's the one thing the Red Sox were hoping to bring home after this trip to the Bronx.
"Definitely huge for us. For all of us," Narváez said. “Everybody sees what we’ve been through the last couple of weeks, battling, going through tough moments. This series was huge for us. Every time we play against the Yankees, it’s something special."