The Pinstriped Baseball Lane

Boston Red Sox (3-5) @New York Yankees (5-1)

MLB Baseball: Saturday. 8-1-2020 @7:07 PM (Yankee Stadium)

Zack Godley (RHP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7Ks) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (RHP, 0-0,- – -ERA)

LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!

Last night was the New York Yankees‘ stadium opener and they kicked it off against the Boston Red Sox. The Yanks got their season off to a hot start on the road, and in their first game back in the bright lights of NYC, they continued their winning ways as they notched a 5-1 victory over their AL East rivals.

Jordan Montgomery dominated and the Yankees hit three bombs to beat the Red Sox in the Friday night matinee. Monty must of felt great walking off the field after Boone made the call to the bullpen. In his first outing after Tommy John, Monty managed to pitch five and two-thirds innings of one-run ball. He allowed a home run in the second to Michael Chavis, and that was the only run the Boston Red Sox would score as Montgomery settled down and pitched another three scoreless innings. 

At 81 pitches manager, Boone took Monty out and replaced him with Chad Green, who pitched two scoreless innings. Adam Ottavino came in to close out the eighth inning, and Jonathan Holder pitched an imperfect ninth, but he didn’t allow a run.

At the bottom of the second inning, Gio Urshela, that went 2 for 4 last night, almost homered to the right-field wall, but it was prevented from going out by Jackie Bradley Jr. At the top of the third inning with DJ LeMahieu on first, Aaron Judge hit a big home run for the 2-1 Yankee lead, and the Yanks NEVER looked back.

After the Bronx Bombers took the 2-1 lead, it was like adding fuel to the flames because the hits just kept coming.

At the bottom of the fourth Gio Urshela, who almost homered in the second slammed a big solo homer off of Red Sox starter Ryan Weber ending his night for the Sox. On the New York Yankees part, Mongomery was in control for five and two-thirds innings giving up just the one run in the third inning.

It was all uphill for the Yanks on the offensive and defensive side. This Yankees home opener looked different than any one that preceded it, but the NYY bats looked straight outta 2019 against the Sox.

Brett Gardner, who went 0-13 finally had the breakdown he needed, as he finally got his 2020 season started on the offensive front. Gardy walked twice in the game, and in the bottom of the eighth inning, his bat came alive in a big way. Brett The Jet finally got the chance to throw a “Gardy Party“, as he homered to center. The shot was a no-doubter that gave the Yankees the 5-1 lead in the game. 

Talk about veteran patience, it was just a matter of time before the longest tenured Yankee got his pitch.

Jordan Montgomery got the win, and Ryan Weber took the loss. The Yankees are now 5-1 on the young season.  Aaron Judge is on a roll hitting a homer in each of his last three games.  It’s hard not to pitch to him because the Yankees lineup is a powerhouse throughout the lineup.

The Yankees meet the Red Sox again tomorrow at the Stadium, and all eyes will be on Judge to see if he can hit another homer, making four games in a row, which he has never done before.  Masahiro Tanaka, after being hit in the head a month ago, will start today’s game for the Yankees.

With the Yanks on a hot stretch, I have a good feeling about tonight’s game. Masa has recovered from a concussion that he sustained on July 4th, and the veteran pitcher will have to prove he is set for 2020 action. He struggled heavily in 2019 against Sox, permitting 22 earned runs in eight innings (24.75 ERA). This also included a disastrous London series start.

The reason for my good feeling is, even though Tanaka has to prove that he is prepared for 2020, he will be back by some of the game’s hottest bats. With that being said, I am locking in Aaron Boone’s squad as my choice for the win tonight.

Tanaka will be countered by Zack Godley. The Red Sox will send the righty to the mound in the Bronx as their opener. This will be Godley’s second appearance of 2020 and he will also have to prove his worth to his ballclub. The Boston righty joined the club on a Minor League deal in mid-July and compiled seven strikeouts over four innings of scoreless relief work against the Mets on July 27th.

Quick Side Note

As we saw in the Yankees’ opener yesterday, the offensive power on both sides of the aisle are stunning. So with that being said, today’s pitching matchup may or may not be a highlight of the evening.