Giancarlo Stanton, J.A. Happ turn in duds as Yankees drop ALDS Game 1 to Red Sox
The New York Yankees had their chances to steal Game 1 of the American League Division Series from the Boston Red Sox. Instead, they were left frustrated by opportunities missed, and performances that fell well short of expectations.
Namely, performances from designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and starting pitcher J.A. Happ.
Both players had a chance to put a stamp on the first game of their first postseason series in pinstripes. Unfortunately for the Yankees, both men had games they’d soon like to forget, while playing an undeniable role in a stinging 5-4 defeat.
Stanton comes up empty
At the plate, Stanton went 1-for-5 with a run scored. It was the emptiness of his other four at-bats though that really stood out. Stanton struck out four times, including in the seventh and ninth innings when he represented the tying run.
A home run either time obviously would have been great. Some contact could have served just as well as the Yankees chipped away at an early five-run deficit.
“I thought [Matt] Barnes made a great pitch against him, and just seeing the replay, where he started a tough pitch,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton following the game. “Sometimes you know that goes with Giancarlo sometimes. If you make pitches against him, his outs are a lot of times strikeouts. So he had the hit. That was part of us scoring a run. You have to live with that sometimes. Because there’s many times when you make a mistake to him in that big spot, and he can come up with the big one.”
The Yankees can’t rely on the home run too much in this series. This series will come down to which team comes up with the timely hits. In Game 1, that team was clearly the Red Sox.
Happ falls short
Boone’s pitching plans were quickly blown up when Happ was knocked out of the game in the third inning after recording just six outs and allowing all five Red Sox runs.
Happ’s forgettable outing was the Yankees shortest in a playoff series since 2004. Luis Severino had the shortest Yankees postseason start ever last season, but that came in the wild-card game.
The most damaging blow came from Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez, who crushed a three-run, first-inning home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Martinez laid waste to a 2-0 fastball, driving home Andrew Benintendi and Steve Pearce.
Happ was susceptible to home runs this season, allowing 27 over 177 innings between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. That made Martinez an especially important matchup for him.
New York’s veteran left-hander temporarily recovered in the second inning, retiring the Red Sox in order. He didn’t record an out beyond that. Manager Aaron Boone brought the hook after Happ allowed a double to Mookie Betts and another single to Benintendi to start the third. Both runners would come around to score on RBIs from Pearce and Xander Bogaerts.
The Yankees selected Happ for the Game 1 start largely because of his success against the Red Sox throughout this career. He entered with a 1.99 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox this season, and a 2.98 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) during his career. He didn’t have any answers on Friday.
Collectively, the Yankees better find some answers for the Red Sox on Saturday. Otherwise they’ll be heading back to New York in an 0-2 hole.
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