If there had been one positive to the drudgery that had been the Yankees’ month-old season it was this:
The club had mostly avoided injury.
That seems to have ended.
For the third time in two days, a big name went down, with Jacoby Ellsbury the latest.
The centerfielder left Friday’s game, a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox on a chilly 50-degree night at the Stadium, with tightness in his right hip.
Aaron Hicks, off to a nightmare of a start in his first season as a Yankee, hit a tie-breaking homer off Rick Porcello in the seventh to provide the winning margin. Hicks’ first homer of the year improved him to 4-for-35 this season.
Dellin Betances allowed a two-out single in the eighth and Joe Girardi decided to bring on Andrew Miller, who walked a tightrope the rest of the way.
The lefthander walked former Yankee Chris Young but struck out Jackie Bradley Jr. looking at a slider.
Josh Rutledge reached on an infield single to lead off the ninth, and Miller struck out Mookie Betts. Dustin Pedroia singled and Xander Bogaerts looped a single to left-center that loaded the bases for – who else? – David Ortiz.
The slugger, a Yankee-killer his entire career who plans to retire at season’s end, got ahead 3-and-1 before taking a strike he immediately objected to. Manager John Farrell got between Ortiz and plate umpire Ron Kulpa, who soon threw out Farrell. Kulpa punched out Ortiz on the next pitch and, after returning to the dugout, Ortiz was ejected and stormed back on the field to get Kulpa’s face.
After order was restored, Miller struck out Hanley Ramirez for his sixth save.
It was a positive start for the Yankees (10-17) on a 10-game homestand, though the injury to Ellsbury put a cloud over it.
The prognosis for the oft-injured centerfieler was not immediately known, though he was scheduled for an MRI.
Wednesday the Yankees put Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring strain and earlier in the day Friday CC Sabathia landed on the DL with a left groin strain.
Ellsbury, 16 for his last 53 (.302) coming in, appeared to tweaked something taking a big turn around third on a stolen base in the first inning when a Porcello pitch got away from catcher Christian Vazquez.
He was replaced in center in the top of the second by Hicks, who started in right. Dustin Ackley came off the bench to take over for Hicks and would later contribute and RBI single.
Michael Pineda shook off a 28-pitch first inning, in which he allowed a two-run homer to David Ortiz, to post a solid outing. The righthander, who came in 1-2 with a 6.33 ERA – and having allowed four homers in his previous start at home, April 24 vs. Tampa – allowed two runs and eight hits over six innings.
Porcello allowed three runs and six hits over seven innings.
With two outs in the first, Xander Bogaerts sliced a 2-and-1, 94 mph fastball down the rightfield line for a double. Of the 26 hits Pineda had allowed at home to that point in the season, 16 had gone for extra-base hits.
That percentage would soon grow as Ortiz stepped to the plate.
After getting ahead 1-and-2, Pineda hung a slider that Ortiz lasered into the seats in right-center for his seventh homer of the season, making it 2-0. It marked Ortiz’s 50th regular season homer against the Yankees (49 with Boston, one with the Twins) and his 10th homer in his last 27 games against them.
Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw followed with singles but Pineda struck out Brock Holt to end the inning.
The Yankees came right back with Ellsbury drawing a four-pitch walk. After Brett Gardner struck out, extending his slump to 5-for-36, Ellsbury stole second. Mark Teixeira struck out, falling to five for his last 25, and Ellsbury stole third, giving him a team-best eight but hurting his hip on the play. Brian McCann, one of the few Yankees producing of late at the plate, then lined a 3-and-1 pitch down the rightfield line for a double that made it 2-1.
The Yankees tied in the second on Ackley’s two-out single.
The Red Sox were poised to retake the lead in the sixth. Ramirez reached on an infield single with one out, Shaw singled to left and Holt dropped in a soft liner to center that Pineda clearly felt Hicks should have caught, even throwing up his hands and glaring to center after the ball fell.
But Pineda recovered, getting Jackie Bradley Jr. to ground into a 6-6-3 double play.
..... - Newsday