Boston Red Sox survive Game One of the ALDS… barely

Chris Sale shows his form, J.D. Martinez contributes a three-run home run, and the Boston Red Sox barely hang on 5-4 against New York in Game One of the ALDS

Two things were clear as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 5-4 in their American League Division Series opener Friday night at Fenway Park.

The first was that Chris Sale is healthy. Sidelined for most of the regular season’s second half by shoulder inflammation, Sale delivered his longest outing since July, pitching into the sixth inning and dominating the Yankee lineup. He fanned eight, allowed just four hits and mixed his pitches well before being pulled when two of the first three Yankee batters in the sixth touched him for singles.

The second point of clarity was that if Sale can’t take the game deep enough to get to the trustworthy portion of the Boston bullpen, anything may happen. Rid of Sale, the Yankees proceeded to tally both of the runners he left behind, and made things interesting by bringing the tying and/or go-ahead runs to the plate in each of the final four innings. The Boston pen gave up a third run in the seventh and a fourth — on Aaron Judge‘s ninth inning leadoff home run into the bullpen — before Craig Kimbrel finally closed the shaky deal.

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Those pen lapses didn’t affect the final result because the Red Sox offense had already demonstrated why it led the American League in batting average, on base average and slugging average during the regular season. The Sox beat up Yankee starter J. A. Happ for five runs in two-plus innings.

The first inning was a microcosm of Boston’s dominance for however long Sale was in the game. In the top half, Sale caught Andrew McCutchen and Aaron Judge looking, walked Aaron Hicks but then whiffed Giancarlo Stanton. It was the first of two times he would strike out the side.

Then in the bottom half, Andrew Benitendi singled, Steve Pearce worked Happ for a walk, and J.D. Martinez drilled a line drive over the Green Monster for a 3-0 Boston lead.

Happ took more punishment in the third, although not for long. Mookie Betts led off with a double, and Benitendi singled him to third. Benitendi’s hit had the byproduct of prompting Yankee manager Aaron Boone to remove Happ in favor of Shane Greene. Pearce greeted Greene with a run-producing hit, and Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly got the fifth run home.

For as long was Sale controlled the Boston mound, that 5-0 advantage looked solid. But nothing is ever easy – or quick – in a Yankee-Red Sox game.  In the seventh, singles by McCutchen and Judge chased Workman in favor of Matt Barnes, leading to the third Yankee run.

Boston’s saving grace turned out to be New York’s inability to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Red Sox bullpen. New York left six runners on base in the sixth, seventh and eighth thanks in part to bases-loaded strikeouts by Torres in the sixth and Stanton in the seventh.

After allowing Judge’s ninth inning home run, Kimbrel finally dispelled the drama by striking out Brett Gardner, Stanton and Luke Voit to end the game.

Due to Happ’s early departure, New York’s bullpen pulled even heavier duty. But once Greene settled in, he, Lance Lynn, Zach Britton and David Robertson were considerably more effective. Their combined six innings produced nothing more offensive for the Red Sox than four scattered singles. Against the Yankee pen, only one Boston runner advanced past first base, and that was due to a sacrifice bunt.