Henry Owens was acceptable in his first Major League start, but the Boston Red Sox couldn't keep up with him as they lost to the New York Yankees 13-3. Facing one of the most ferocious lineups in the American League, the rookie demonstrated why he is considered one of the top rated prospects in the Red Sox organization.
He overcame a shaky start, in which he allowed his first Major League earned run, when he gave up an RBI single to Mark Teixeira. Chase Headley singled to begin the bottom half of the second inning, but Owens retired the next nine batters he faced. Meanwhile, his counterpart Masahiro Tanaka was dealing in the first four innings, where he only allowed a double to Mike Napoli.
The Red Sox took the lead in the top half of the fifth, when Napoli doubled for the second time in the game and Alejandro De Aza and Blake Swihart followed with back-to-back singles that allowed the first baseman to score. Jackie Bradley Jr. brought home the second run of the inning when he recorded a sacrifice fly that scored De Aza. Tanaka found his way again in the top half of the sixth when Xander Bogaerts flied out to right field, David Ortiz walked and Hanley Ramírez hit a ball that allowed Tanaka and Teixeira to come up with a nice double play.
Owens had a lead for the first time in his Major League career but couldn't hold it in the bottom half of the sixth, when he allowed a single to Chris Young and a double to Alex Rodriguez. Robbie Ross Jr. replaced Owens, who left runners on first and second and couldn't record an out. Teixeira tied the game with a single off Ross Jr. and Brian McCann gave the Yankees the lead with a double to center field. Carlos Beltrán provided the first out of the inning with a groundout that scored Teixeira. Jean Machi replaced Ross Jr. to finish the inning when he struck out Brendan Ryan.
Tanaka came out again in the seventh inning, but was soon removed after giving up a home run to Pablo Sandoval, who cut the Yankees lead to 4-3. Justin Wilson took over for Tanaka, and struck out Napoli but gave up a single to Rusney Castillo, who pinch-hit for De Aza. With two outs and Bradley Jr. batting, Castillo stole second base and put pressure on the Yankees reliever, so Joe Girardi brought in Dellin Betances to replace Wilson while the Red Sox center fielder was working on a 1-2 count. Before walking Bradley Jr., Betances threw a wild pitch that advanced Castillo to third. Brock Holt came to the plate with two outs and while he was batting, Bradley Jr. stole second base and the Red Sox had the leading run in scoring position. However, Betances found a way to strike out the super utility man and didn't give up the lead.
The bottom half of the seventh inning was ghastly for the Red Sox and it all began with a fielding error from Bogaerts that allowed Jacoby Ellsbury to reach first base. Young walked and was followed by a single by Alex Rodríguez that scored Ellsbury, and the Yankees had a 5-3 lead but the hitting clinic didn't stop there.
Craig Breslow replaced Machi and struck out Teixeira, but gave up a towering home run to McCann and it all went downhill from that point. Beltrán and Headley hit back-to-back doubles that boosted the Yankees lead to 9-3. It seemed that the inning was slowing down in its offensive performance when Didi Gregorius flied out to right field, but Ryan walked and was followed by a single from Ellsbury who pushed the score to 10-3.. Alexi Ogando replaced Breslow, but allowed a home run to Chris Young to give the Yankees a 10-run lead. Ogando walked Rodríguez and struck out Teixeira to end the fatal inning. The Yankees sent 13 men to the plate and scored a total of nine runs to put the game out of reach.
Branden Pinder retired the Red Sox in order in the top half of the eighth and Ogando did the same to the Yankees in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Rumbelow replaced Pinder and closed the game.
Things aren't going well for the Red Sox as they've suffered eight-straight road losses, while dropping 13 of their last 18 games since the All-Star break. Boston is now 14 games out of first place in the AL East, 8.5 away from the Wild Card, and hold the worst record in the entire American League.. Meanwhile, the Yankees hold a 5.5 game lead on the division and have scored 90 runs in their last 10 games.