BOSTON — The seeds of the Yankees’ 9-6 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night were planted Thursday night in Queens.
That’s when Bryan Mitchell imploded in the win over the Mets, forcing Dellin Betances to pitch a full inning. If Mitchell, who gave up a ninth-inning homer to Curtis Granderson, hadn’t forced Joe Girardi’s hand, the manager could have used Betances at some point Friday as the seventh inning — and the game — was slipping away.
But with the big right-hander unavailable, Girardi was forced to stick with Chad Green and Tommy Kahnle.
If the Yankees are going to get to where they want to go, both will have to prove they can perform in these situations.
But against at Fenway Park on Friday, the two right-handers gave up a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, as the Yankees dropped the first game of the crucial series.
After it was over, Girardi reflected on an infield hit by former Yankee Eduardo Nunez, the first batter Kahnle faced when he took over from Green.
“Nunez’s infield hit really opened it up for them,” Girardi said. “Kahnle makes a good pitch and gets beat by a dribbler. That’s out No. 2 and then he gets [Mookie] Betts for out No. 3. Sometimes things go awry. That was a big base hit [by Nunez].”
Indeed it was, as it loaded the bases with one out and was followed by Betts’ sacrifice fly that cut the Yankees’ lead to 6-4. Andrew Benintendi followed with an RBI single to right, — nothing cheap about that one — and after a walk to Hanley Ramirez, pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland delivered a two-run single to center on a third straight changeup by Kahnle.
“The first two were good,” Kahnle said of the changeups, both of which resulted in swings and misses. “He was on it, but they were good pitches. The third one, I obviously left up a little high, and he pushed it through the hole.”
Kahnle allowed two runs in just two-thirds of an inning. It was as many runs as Kahnle had surrendered in his previous 14 appearances combined with the Yankees, spanning 11 ²/₃ innings.
“It boils down to they were getting hits,” Kahnle said. “I thought I was making good pitches. Basically, it didn’t turn out in my favor.”
For Green — who mostly has been excellent since going to the bullpen — it was the second time in three appearances he allowed two runs.
“It’s tough all the time,” Girardi said of losing despite going to your perceived strength. “We didn’t get it done.”