The Red Sox kept tightening the screws on the Yankees Tuesday night, and Jarren Duran delivered the kind of swing that can change the feel of a race.
Boston’s left fielder launched a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning off an 80 mph sweeper from Marlins reliever Cade Gibson, driving the ball 412 feet into right-center field and bringing home first baseman Willson Contreras, shortstop Andruw Monasterio and designated hitter Jahmai Jones. Duran then celebrated by putting on the head of the team’s mascot, Wally the Green Monster, while his teammates soaked in a win that extended Boston’s streak to five straight.
That blast carried the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over the Marlins (67-66), pushing Boston to 73-59 and trimming its gap behind the Yankees (74-57) to 1.5 games in the American League wild-card chase.
If the postseason started Tuesday night, the Yankees would still hold the No. 1 wild-card spot in the AL, with Boston in the No. 2 slot and set to face New York in a best-of-three series. The Cleveland Guardians (66-66) would be right there as the No. 3 seed.
There’s one catch for Boston: New York would have home-field advantage in that matchup. The Red Sox would rather not let that happen, and they still have a chance to flip it if they make the most of the final 30 games on their schedule.
The next stretch could tell the story. Boston finishes its three-game series in Miami on Wednesday (MLB.TV/NESN, 6:40 p.m.
ET), then heads to Yankee Stadium for a four-game series against the Yankees beginning Friday (Apple TV/NESN, 7:15 p.m. ET).
New York wraps up its three-game home set against the Houston Astros before that showdown, and the Astros (66-66) opened that series by beating the Yankees 9-7 on Tuesday.
These two AL East rivals are still packed tightly together as the season winds down. Before Tuesday’s action, FanGraphs Baseball projected the Yankees to finish 17-15 over their final 32 games, while the Red Sox were projected to go 17-14.
Right now, though, the edge feels like it’s tilting toward Boston. And after Duran’s grand slam, New York has every reason to keep looking over its shoulder.
In Other News...
Mike Trout Is Back In Yankees Speculation For A Frustrating Reason
Mike Trouts name has a way of surfacing whenever the Yankees have a glaring need, and center field has become one of those spots again. The Angels star has said he wants to stay where he was drafted in 2009, which is no small thing for a player with deep roots in one organization, but that has not stopped the usual offseason speculation from building around a potential fit in New York.
For the Yankees, the appeal is obvious: a rare player of Trouts caliber would instantly change the conversation in the outfield. For everyone else, the roadblocks are just as obvious. Trout holds a no-trade clause and has shown no interest in moving, which is why the Yankees curiosity, if it even goes that far, feels more like a familiar winter storyline than a realistic pursuit. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Have A Bullpen Problem At The Worst Time
The late-season grind is starting to show in the Yankees bullpen, and Fernando Cruz is the latest arm headed for a reset. Cruz is expected to go on the injured list because of fatigue after working beyond his previous workload, while Elmer Rodriguez has been called up from Triple-A to take his spot. It comes after a recent loss to the Astros, when the relief corps looked stretched and Brent Headrick was among the pitchers who struggled.
Aaron Boone has already acknowledged how heavily the bullpen has been used, and the next stretch figures to require some careful handling. The Yankees could use help on the way soon, with Max Fried expected back from injury, but for now the group has to bridge the gap while one of its more trusted relievers gets a break. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Have A Real Problem At A Position They Ignored
Ryan McMahons move to the injured list has turned third base into one of the Yankees biggest immediate concerns, and it is a spot that had already been shaky before the setback. With McMahon sidelined, Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario are the next men up, but neither has offered much with the bat, which only adds pressure to a position that has not given New York much production this season.
The larger issue is that third base has been a soft spot for the Yankees even before the injury, with the group posting a low batting average and OPS compared with the rest of the lineup. Now the club has to find enough offense and stability there without much margin for error, and the way they handle the position in the short term could say a lot about how seriously they viewed it all along. [Read more 🡒]