NewzNEW YORK (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela and the Boston Red Sox ran themselves right into a 1-0 loss at Yankee Stadium.In the opener of a critical four-game series, Rafaela committed a costly baserunning blunder in the fifth inning Friday night and then got thrown out at home plate to end the seventh.Shut out for the second consecutive game and seventh time this season, Boston (73-61) dropped three games behind the Yankees (76-58) in the race for the top American League wild-card and home-field advantage throughout a potential best-of-three playoff series between the longtime rivals.With the Red Sox trailing on Paul Goldschmidt's third-inning homer off starter Patrick Sandoval, they put two on against New York ace Cam Schlittler with one out in the fifth. Wilyer Abreu lined out to center field, and Rafaela got doubled off first as the trail runner to end the inning — with cleanup batter Willson Contreras on deck.“That’s a bad read on me. That can’t happen.”In the bottom half, cameras caught Rafaela shaking his head at himself in center field.“I don’t know if it was an outs thing or if it was both guys when the ball kind of came off the bat, they started to extend, thinking it was going to drop," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said.
“He may have just extended too far, got close to the bag and then he flipped the ball in quick and he’s back-picked at first. So, tough one there, obviously.”In a nip-and-tuck game with a playoff feel, Boston then put runners at second and third with one out in the seventh when Rafaela singled and Abreu doubled on the first two pitches from reliever Paul Blackburn.Contreras lofted a fly to medium left field and Cody Bellinger cut down the speedy Rafaela at home plate with a 99.7 mph throw.“Honestly, not surprised because we know he has a good arm," Rafaela said. “He throws with accuracy and that was being aggressive trying to tie the game right there and he made a perfect throw.
I think that’s the only throw that can get me out right there.”Rafaela said he went on his own, even though interim third base coach Chad Epperson was telling him to hold.“That’s not him. Sometimes I make dumb decisions trying to be over-aggressive and those things happen,” Rafaela said.Tracy, however, thought trying to score was the right play in that situation.“We haven’t scored much lately, so you'… NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered, left fielder Cody Bellinger threw out the potential tying run at home plate to end the seventh inning and the New York Yankees edged the Boston Red Sox 1-0 on Friday night in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.Cam Schlittler (12-6) shut down his hometown team again, striking out eight in 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball.
The right-hander from Massachusetts overcame five walks, which matched a career high, as the Red Sox went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 overall.They also cost themselves with a terrible baserunning blunder by Ceddanne Rafaela, who got doubled off first as the trail runner when Wilyer Abreu lined out to center field — ending the fifth with cleanup batter Willson Contreras on deck.New York remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and moved three ahead of Boston in the race for the top American League wild card and home-field advantage throughout a potential best-of-three playoff series between the longtime rivals.Such a matchup would be a reprisal of last year, when Schlittler pitched a Game 3 gem as a rookie to send the Yankees on. Schlittler, who surpassed 200 strikeouts this season and leads the AL with a 2.09 ERA, is 3-1 with a 0.56 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings over five career starts against Boston — including the postseason.In a nip-and-tuck game with a playoff feel, Boston put runners at second and third with one out in the seventh when Rafaela singled and Abreu doubled on the first two pitches from reliever Paul Blackburn.Contreras lofted a fly to left and Bellinger cut down Rafaela at the plate with a 99.7 mph throw.Blackburn worked a 1-2-3 eighth and David Bednar pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st save.With the Yankees facing a left-handed starter for the first time since Aug. 8 (excluding openers), Goldschmidt batted leadoff and launched a 430-foot homer to left off hard-luck loser Patrick Sandoval (1-3) in the third.Up nextA day-night doubleheader Saturday to make up a June 6 rainout.
Max Fried (4-4, 2.81 ERA) will come off the injured list to start the early game for the Yankees, with fellow left-hander Carlos Rodón (4-2, 3.15) taking the ball in the other. Rookie LHP Jake Bennett (8-6, 3.49) pitches the opener for the Red Sox, who had not announced a Game 2 starter.___See AP’s full MLB coverage here
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