With Aaron Judge down and Giancarlo Stanton already on the shelf, the Yankees needed somebody to carry the lineup against Boston. Paul Goldschmidt has quietly been that guy, and he picked a good day to keep the receipts coming with Suarez on the mound.
Goldschmidt putting a charge into one off Suarez with the Yankees missing their middle of the order.
The vibes nearly went sideways in a hurry. Anthony Volpe uncorked a brutal throw home on a Ceddanh Rafaela sprint, the kind of play that drags an entire YES Network broadcast into a groan, and the defensive case for Jose Caballero at shortstop basically wrote itself in real time. The Yankees stuffed Caballero in right field instead, which is its own conversation for another day.
Rafaela tearing around the bases on the Volpe throw-home that nearly flipped the game.
Cody Bellinger said no thanks to the spiral. He launched a 394-foot solo shot at 100.5 mph off the bat to wake the building up, the kind of swing that has made him look like the best free-agent decision of the Yankees' winter. With Judge and Stanton out, Belli is the offense right now, and he is delivering.
Bellinger's solo bomb at Yankee Stadium with the exit velo readout.
Then came the finisher nobody saw coming. Joe La Sorsa is the type of name you have to Google mid-at-bat, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. introduced him to the entire Bronx by depositing one into the seats to make it 3-1 in the 8th. Marty Mush was already typing 'this team is our year' before Jazz finished his trot, which is exactly the energy a comeback win over the Sox is supposed to produce.
Jazz answering the 'who is Joe La Sorsa' question with a swing.
Add it all up: Cam was good enough, the pen locked it down, Goldy delivered the big hit, Belli set the tone, and Jazz put the bow on it. The Volpe throw could have derailed everything and didn't. The Rays lost too. As Sundays go in the Bronx without your two biggest bats, this one counts.