The Yankees needed exactly one swing to beat the Red Sox on Friday night, and Paul Goldschmidt provided it. His third-inning solo shot off Patrick Sandoval traveled 430 feet to left field at 106.5 mph off the bat, and it held up as the only run of a 1-0 Yankees win in the opener of a pivotal four-game set.
OKAY GOLDY
Marty Mush wasn't the only one losing his mind over it. Eric Hubbs, watching live, went with the nickname treatment, and Barstool Baseball's account posted the same swing minutes later with the crowd on its feet as Goldschmidt rounded the bases.
One run wasn't much of a cushion, and it needed a defensive gem to hold up. Cody Bellinger threw out Ceddanne Rafaela at the plate with a 99.7 mph throw to end the seventh inning, snuffing out a Red Sox threat with runners at second and third. Hubbs called it live as it happened.
CODY BELLINGER. BALL PLAYER.
"It never crossed my mind once that Bellinger had a chance there. What a throw. Good tag too from Wells. Baseball," Hubbs wrote afterward. By the next morning he still hadn't cooled off, saying he could watch the throw "1000 times and it won't get old".
The pitching staff did its part to make sure Goldschmidt's homer stood up. Cam Schlittler struck out 8 over 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball for the win, Paul Blackburn worked around traffic for a clean eighth, and David Bednar closed it out with a perfect ninth for his 31st save. The Red Sox went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 baserunners, unable to cash in against a Yankees bullpen that didn't blink.
Even rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. got a night off from his own storyline. Barstool Baseball had needled him earlier in the day about making an error in 6 straight games, and Hubbs made a point of noting the streak snapped in his postgame roundup: "No Lombard error!" among the credits for pitching, defense and Goldschmidt's bomb.
For a Red Sox team that's been chasing the Yankees in the standings, the quiet night stung. "Boston is so sad. Didn't even show up easy win for the Yankees," Marty Mush wrote, needling Boston fans who'd been talking about closing the gap. Whether that's just one night or the start of a trend gets tested over the rest of this 4-game series.