The Yankees needed something out of the ordinary to happen Saturday night, and they got it in their 3-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
BOSTON — Derailed from their monthslong march toward historic greatness by a sudden and surprise slump that had gone on far too long, the Yankees needed something out of the ordinary to happen Saturday night, something completely unexpected. They badly needed to change the narrative, to flip the script back.
For close to four months, the Yankees were near to untouchable, winning at a pace to rival the great teams of the franchise’s past. They appeared to be on a march to greatness. Lately, however, they have been mediocre, and that’s on good days. The dog days came early, and threatened to stay late. Doubt had to be creeping in for a team that seemed invincible early. A funny thing happened in the Yankees’ march to history. Although, maybe it’s not so funny if you’re living it.
On this night, the relievers were back on their games. Aroldis Chapman, a candidate to return to the closer’s role, started his evening by catching Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts trying to steal third with a pickoff to end a threat in the seventh inning before pitching a dominant eighth.