2025's First Sox-Yankees Clash In Fenway Delivered True Baseball Cinema

While it was only a June regular season meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox on Friday, the night certainly had a playoff feel to it as the game went on. Garrett Crochet vs. the Yankees under the lights at Fenway, what more do you want? After not playing each other at all this year before last weekend, we get back to back weekends of war. With the Sox ace on the bump against Ryan Yarbrough things definitely felt in Boston's favor going into this one, but to the Yankees' credit the combo of Yarbs, Loaisiga, Hamilton, and Cruz kept them very much in it. 

Garrett Crochet was unbelievable last night. It was every bit the kind of performance you imagine when you trade and extend for a pitcher of his caliber. The true heir to Chris Sale's throne if you will. Crochet pitched into the 9th inning last night for the first time in his career and looked very comfortable doing so outside of a hairy 5th. His top of the 8th lasted all of 5 pitches, giving Cora the easy decision to send him back out there to finish the job. By doing so he had to get Judge for the fourth time, with the previous three at bats going all via the strikeout. That's actually how all six at bats had gone so far when the two stars came against one another in 2025. The seventh at bat would not end the same. 

Crochet had dominated the first three at bats by owning the top half of the zone. Keep Judge up there and the likelihood of damage on a fastball was much lower than in other locations. While Crochet found the black, he missed location and kept the ball down just enough for Judge to find the barrel and detonate, and boy did he do that. 

100 mph in, 115 mph going out, 443 feet over the Monster to tie the game in the 9th. As good as it gets. True baseball cinema. Judge displayed a rare pimp job (by his standards) to it too, I mean how could you not? He even gave the crowd a shake of the head when Crochet missed inside for ball 3. Little stare into the Sox dugout for ya. This was cold. 

Problem for the Yankees is that this only tied the game. This clash would creep into extras which meant we had to experience once again the Yankees trying to score in 10th inning as the road team —an impossible challenge if you will. There's actually no one worse at this than them. 

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So how would they fuck things up this time? Well, with Volpe starting the inning on 2nd he decided to get a little greedy and swipe 3rd. While initially called safe, replay showed his hand got a little caught as it reached for the bag. The tag got there a split second ahead and he was called out. 

I still for the life of me can't figure out why Volpe would go there. Narvaez is excellent behind the plate with a cannon of an arm, he is not a guy to test. With nobody out you don't run there unless you have it stolen without a throw honestly. You better have the best read ever off the pitcher because if you get thrown out the game is essentially over with the bottom of the order up. Can't happen. Of course Boone loved the decision to try to steal. To me it felt incredibly unnecessary and reckless. 

Later in the inning DJ hit this ball down the right field line, but it was ruled foul for some reason. 

It was reviewed and upheld somehow. Not sure what you can look at this and say the ball was foul. 

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While that definitely looks fair, how in the year 2025 is that our best angle for a big call like that? We've got Elon's rocket boosters landing themselves back on Earth like they're parking themselves in a garage, but this is the best technology we can rely on for a fair/foul ball? The tennis hawkeye challenge technology is right there waiting to be used. USE IT! After it was upheld Boone got himself ejected. Kinda wish he picked up the microphone and screamed at the replay guy. 

Also be a softer umpire, my god. Ejecting DJ after this? He said "that's a brutal call" and that thin skinned bitch tossed him after making the wrong call in the first place. 

In the bottom half of the inning Narvaez walked them off after Hill gave him a gift on 1-2. 

While the Yankees have a great record and an okay lead in the AL East, they've played dog shit against the division. 8-9 vs the Sox, Jays, Rays, and O's lets everyone hang around enough to get you in the end. Sloppy all around. So far 1-3 vs. Boston too. While in reality they're just regular season games, they take years off my life. The fact that Judge's homer off Crochet ends up being lost in a losing effort is so lame. Way to go boys. 

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Rodon vs. Dobbins tonight, hopefully they let Lance Dobbins throw out the first pitch.