Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and Boston held New York to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseballr17;s best record.
Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stantonr17;s clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattler17;s Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.
r1;He looks like the best pitcher in the big leagues right now,r1; Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the best mark by percentage points after winning Fridayr17;s series opener 8-1.
Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd ripped into starter Sonny Gray (5-6) after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last season.
r1;I expect to come out and perform and make it fun,r1; Gray said. r1;The way Ir17;ve thrown the ball, I donr17;t think itr17;s been fun. I feel like wer17;re the best team in baseball four out of five days, and then I come out and do that.r1;
Devers had a career-best five hits. He nearly socked another homer in the seventh, but right fielder Aaron Judge reached over the wall and knocked Deversr17; shot back into play with his glove. Devers ended up with a double following a video review.
Since June 5, the 21-year-old Devers has raised his OPS from .675 to .741.
r1;We take it for granted because her17;s talented and did what he did last year Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , but her17;s still a kid,r1; Cora said, adding that Devers has been working hard with Bostonr17;s staff to shore up the holes left in his game from racing through the minor leagues. r1;Her17;s staying with the program.r1;
Sandy Leon brought in Devers with a two-run homer into the second deck in right field. J.D. Martinez had three hits and three RBIs, and Mookie Betts added two hits and two walks as Boston piled up 17 hits.
Heath Hembree and Hector Velazquez closed it out with a hitless inning each. Velazquez gave up a groundball single to Gleyber Torres in the ninth for New Yorkr17;s second hit.
New York had won seven consecutive games against left-handed starters and was a major league-best 19-5 against them this season, but Sale had them spinning. The Yankees hit just four balls out of the infield against Sale, and he retired his final 16 batters.
r1;Got punched in the face last night, so you obviously want to respond well,r1; Sale said.
Judge struck out three times against the lefty in three at-bats, giving him 13 punchouts in 18 career at-bats against Sale. Thatr17;s the most strikeouts for Judge against any pitcher.
Torres also struck out three times against Sale during his first career start in the leadoff spot. This was the fourth time New York was shut out this season, all in the past 18 games.
GRAY DAY
Gray quickly disposed of Betts and Andrew Benintendi to open the game, but a well-placed grounder by Martinez sparked a big first inning. After Martinezr17;s infield single, Mitch Morelandr17;s walk and Xander Bogaertsr16; single, Gray floated a waist-high 1-2 curveball that Devers lofted just over the left-field wall. It was Deversr17; second career slam r11; both this season r11; and his 14th homer of the year.
Benintendi and Martinez each added an RBI in the second, and Yankee Stadium fans jeered loudly as Gray walked off in the third.
JUMPING JACKIE
Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. caught Aaron Hicksr17; drive in the third while leaping and slamming into the wall in front of New Yorkr17;s bullpen.
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Red Sox: Boston reliever Tyler Thornburg pitched two innings for Double-A Portland on Friday and a clean inning Saturday with Triple-A Pawtucket, perhaps a final hurdle for the right-hander before he returns to the majors following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome last June.
Yankees: Hicks was visited by a trainer after being hit by a pitch on his right foot or ankle in the first inning. He remained in the game. r30; C Austin Romine was pulled in the seventh inning and sent for a precautionary MRI with left hamstring tightness. Results were negative Cheap Leonard Williams Jersey , and he is day to day.
ROSTER MOVE
After the game, the Yankees optioned RHP Giovanny Gallegos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
UP NEXT
Boston LHP David Price (9-5, 3.66 ERA) and Yankees ace Luis Severino (12-2, 2.10) square off in prime time Sunday. Price is 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA in nine starts since being diagnosed with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome that caused him to miss a turn against the Yankees in early May. Severino had his worst start this season vs. Boston on April 10, allowing five runs in five innings, but then matched a season high with 11 strikeouts in a strong outing against the Red Sox on May 8.
r12;
Panthers rookie cornerback Donte Jackson is showing he can talk the talk.
Now coach Ron Rivera is hoping the team's second-round draft pick can walk the walk.
The Louisiana State standout has already turned heads at training camp, displaying impressive speed 鈥?and a cocky swagger to match.
"He is fast, and I love his confidence level," Rivera said of the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Jackson. "We haven't had a guy like that since Josh Norman."
Norman was an All-Pro cornerback for the Panthers in 2015, the year Carolina went 17-2 and reached the Super Bowl. But he was released the following season because of a contract disagreement and signed with the Washington Redskins.
The Panthers have found one solid replacement at cornerback in James Bradberry, and are in search of another. With veteran Ross Cockrell going down with a leg injury on Monday, Jackson may be called on to fill the other starting spot.
Not surprisingly, Jackson said he's up to the task.
"Coming into the NFL I have always felt like I belonged here," Jackson said.
Panthers cornerback Kevon Seymour has seen firsthand Jackson's swagger. Seymour said when running back Christian McCaffrey was racing down the field Authentic Tarik Cohen Jersey , Jackson turned to teammates and said, "He might outrun y'all, but he ain't gonna outrun me. I'm way too fast for that. I'm like electricity. Shoooooom!'"
With that, Seymour started to laugh.
"That is how much confidence he has," Seymour said.
Back in minicamp, Jackson told reporters he's like the Beyonce song "I just woke up like this."
When Rivera heard that he broke into a wide grin.
"He is a personality," Rivera told the team's website in May. "He's got a lot of confidence. You see it on the field. You see it when you talk to him. You watch it in his gait, the way he carries himself. That's the type of attitude you have to have if you want to play in this league. You have to have a certain type of swagger. Josh Norman had it. He had it from Day One. You guys saw it. He struggled a little bit, but because of his swagger, he was able to bring himself back. Well, this young man's got something."
Jackson, who said he's been a talker since he played youth football, welcomes the comparisons to Norman.
"I'm not quiet out there, and I play the same position" as Norman, Jackson said. "We both talk a lot and compete at a high level so that's going to draw a lot of comparison."
Said Bradberry: "He's definitely confident in himself. I wouldn't say he's much of a trash talker. But that is the way people are going to perceive him Walter Payton Bears Jersey , because he is very confident in himself. But he does talk a lot. And he's very fast."
Jackson's speed in coverage has been on display on several occasions during training camp. The 5-foot-10, 188-pound cornerback got beat by rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore on one play, but then quickly recovered and broke up the pass.
"He's not the biggest corner but he's real fast," Bradberry said.
When a reporter asked who is the fastest player on the team, Jackson responded by saying "Donte Jackson, No. 26."
And when asked if there is a player in the league he can't cover, he said, "C'mon man, you know the answer to that. I don't feel like there is anybody I can't cover."
His Twitter handle reads Donte "Action" Jackson because he says "I'm about that action, simple as that."
The Panthers sure hope so.
"It's good to see," Rivera said of Jackson's confidence level. "But remember, you have to back it up."
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