Wells Goes Yard Twice as Yankees Obliterate Boston 16-1
Austin Wells hit two home runs, drove in five, and scored twice as the Yankees turned Sunday into a demolition derby against Boston. The final: NYY 16, BOS 1 — a margin that looks less like a baseball score and more like a football one.
The game cracked open in the fifth inning and never came back. Goldschmidt singled to center, scoring Caballero and Chisholm Jr. to make it 2-0 — a play that swung New York's win probability from 69% to 84%, a 15-point jump that effectively told you everything you needed to know about where this was headed. Two batters later, Ramos launched a 416-foot bomb to left, scoring Goldschmidt and Bellinger to push it to 5-0. Ranger Suarez was getting carved up: he'd surrender 9 hits and 6 earned runs across 5.1 innings before Boston pulled him. The Yankees were already in control, and they hadn't even gotten to the eighth.
The eighth inning was where this game became something else entirely. Boston finally got on the board when Sogard singled to right to score Story, making it 7-1 and offering a brief illusion of life. Then Wells stepped in and homered to right — 343 feet — scoring Chisholm Jr. for a 9-1 lead. Goldschmidt followed with his own shot to right, 355 feet, solo, to make it 10-1. A Grisham sacrifice fly scored Jones for 11-1. Then Caballero — who'd already been everywhere in this lineup — crushed a 402-foot homer to left, plating García Jr. and Rosario to push it to 14-1. Wells wasn't done: he came back up and went deep again, 358 feet to right center, scoring Chisholm Jr. for the 16-1 final. Seven runs in one inning. The story of the night was a Yankees lineup that simply refused to stop.
On the mound, Will Warren was quietly excellent — 7.0 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts. Tim Hill handled the final two frames cleanly, allowing just 1 hit and no runs. This was a complete performance on both sides of the ball for New York. Goldschmidt went 3-for-6 with a homer and 3 RBI. Caballero went 3-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI and scored three times. Chisholm Jr. reached base twice and scored three runs. The Yankees didn't just beat Boston — they appear to have sent a statement, though what it means going forward is a question for the standings to answer.