Crochet Meets Fire: Sox Ignite Early, Hang On for 6-4 Thriller vs. Yankees
A six-run first, some Judge fireworks, and enough bullpen thrills to keep you awake at night.
Game Recap: The Big First, Then the Hangover
Date & Location: Sunday, September 14, 2025, Fenway Park.
Final Score: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4.
Here’s how the evening went downhill… er, uphill… then downhill again:
First Inning Bonanza: Boston came out swinging. Alex Bregman started with a single, scoring Jarren Duran, then Nathaniel Lowe followed with a single. Trevor Story singled, Romy González doubled, Lowe came in to score, then Yoshida with a sac fly, Refsnyder grounded out while González scored, and then Carlos Narváez crushed a 403-ft homer to center to cap off a six-run onslaught. All of this before most Yankees fans had even found their snacks.
Middle Innings Drama: The Sox cooled off after the first, letting New York claw back. In the 4th, Amed Rosario stomped one out to left center, and in the 5th Judge launched his 48th homer. And yes, that still stings.
Seventh & Eighth Shake-Ups: Yankees’ José Caballero launched a homer in the 7th to make it 6-4, bringing tension to a boil. Boston’s bullpen—led by Garrett Whitlock and wrapped up by Aroldis Chapman with his 30th save—had to sweat. The last 2 innings featured more heart attack potential than purposefully drawn out suspense.
Turning Point: First inning, obviously. But the real moment was when Warren couldn’t stop the bleeding early, and Crochet grabbed the air supply. If the Yankees had shut him down early, momentum shifted; but Crochet’s dominance forced them to come from behind in the mid-innings, and Boston’s bullpen held tough.
Player Highlights & Blunders
Garrett Crochet: Superstar mode: 6 innings, 12 strikeouts, only 3 earned runs allowed. His season high in Ks; he dared the Yankees to touch him. Any weakness tonight was in pitch count—not stuff.
Carlos Narváez: That homer in the first didn’t just cap the big inning—it set the tone. Sometimes you need someone to kick off the fireworks so you can watch the show.
Alex Bregman / Romy González / Jarren Duran: Bregman and González helped build the foundation in that first frame; Duran’s presence gave us breathing room later. Good signs from the offense, especially when early starts have been rare.
Yankees’ Offense: Judge, Rosario, Caballero — they kept trying. Varsity trying to come back from JV’s blow-out first. But they left too much on the table.
Blunders & Near Costly Moments: Warren’s inability to stop the Red Sox outburst early was the kind of gaffe that gets replayed in nightmares. Boston’s offense after the first was inconsistent—a lot of vulnerable moments when Yankees threatened to tie it up. Chapman’s save was good, but there were heartbeats.
Quotes & Commentary
Manager Alex Cora said afterwards that getting ahead early was “massive” and that Crochet gave them a chance “every time he took the mound.” Which sounds like praise until you remember he also said the bullpen “wasn’t the problem,” which is technically true if you conveniently ignore all the squeaking and creeping when the lead got trimmed.
Yankees manager voiced frustration that his team gave up “too many mistakes early,” especially in the first, admitting a misplayed fly and string of singles cost them more than the homers.
From the clubhouse: Narváez, after his homer, joked that he “just wanted to hit one pure,” as if the rest of us aren’t squinting for the metrics.
Opponent Misfires (Because Even a Win Requires Humility)
Will Warren’s meltdown in the first: 6 runs on 5 hits, walks, and no real ability to stop the damage. Not exactly championship material in that moment.
Yankees left way too many runners on base late, especially when Caballero’s homer made it 6-4. Could’ve easily have come back with tighter execution.
Fielding and situational offense: some wasted chances, poor baserunning, and not enough pressure on Boston once the lead was threatened. Basically, enough flaws to make you think New York can beat better teams if Boston doesn’t bring more.
Momentum Check & Season Context
This win breaks what looked like a slide: the Sox had dropped a few in a row and were looking vulnerable. So yes, this helps.
In the wild-card race, Boston is still chasing. They remain behind the Yankees, but this game prevents New York from gaining more ground tonight. Every win counts like a minor miracle at this stage.
Fenway magic was back, or at least a glimmer. The offense woke up early; crowd got into it. But past first inning, their bats were mostly polite, nodding instead of slapping. Sustained offense has been elusive.
Future Outlook: Promise or Delusion?
Next up: more games that could make or break wild-card hopes. The rotation needs to follow Crochet’s example; bullpen has to tighten up; offense must find consistency beyond the first inning euphoria.
Questions looming: Can Boston manufacture runs late? Can the bullpen avoid heart-attack innings? What happens if Crochet has an off night?
If the Sox lose a couple in a row from here, those dropped moments become very painful memories. But tonight gives something to latch onto—however tenuous.
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