It went according to Hoyle tonight.
For the Red Sox.
It got so bad, the Yankees closed out the game with Austin Romine on the mound.
Yes, that Austin Romine.
And yes, this one did hurt. “A loss is a loss and they all hurt,” Aaron Judge said after the game.
This one seemed different.
The 16-1 loss, was the worst beating the Yankees ever took in the postseason. No matter who was on the mound, the Red Sox did it the way they won 108 games this season. They nickeled and dimed the Yankees. Stretching hits together, the Sox began the onslaught in the second and never let up.
And former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi got sweet revenge on his erstwhile employer by pitching seven tidy innings.
During the regular season, it’s just one of those games, but being that this is the postseason and every game is precious, you really have to feel the urgency.
“No choice but to flush,” said manager Aaron Boone. “The good thing around today is it’s one game, and as awful of a night as it was for us, we got to turn the page, and tomorrow’s obviously do or die.”
You are damn right, Aaron.
Before every Yankee fan gets on the ledge, let’s shed some light on the subject. In 2004, the Yankees went up 3-0 with a 19-8 win at Fenway Park. Boston was considered dead. A few days later, a bloody sock at Yankee Stadium killed the Curse of the Bambino.
So no the Yankees are not dead and, even though, they seemed like world beaters tonight, they sleepwalked through the first two games.
With CC Sabathia on the mound tomorrow, the Yankees have a decent chance here to send the series back to Boston.
“CC is our guy,” Judge said. “When you have an 18-year veteran on the mound, you feel good.”
However, they will need a new strategy, since the Red Sox scoring early and often off Luis Severino took the normally loud Yankee Stadium crowd out of the game. And by turning the Cathedral into a church, the Red Sox atoned for any sins they suffered the first two games.
They looked good. Like a team that won 108 games and one destined for the World Series.
But the Yankees still have that chance.
Tomorrow may be the final game of Sabathia’s career. Probably retiring after the season, the big lefty can keep it going by channeling his youth. However, it will be an all hands-on deck game with every Yankee pitcher available. And that is why Romine pitched in the ninth. Boone knows there was no coming back tonight, who why waste someone when he could pitch his backup catcher.
Bad optics? Maybe, but all will be forgotten if the Yankee season continues past tomorrow night.
Tonight, the Bronx squirmed at the wraith of the Bosox.
That’s nice for them. But this game won’t matter if they can’t close out the series.
Just ask the 2004 Yankees. How does the 19-8 win feel now?
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