BOSTON — After a game in which the Yankees pitched and defended as poorly as they did Friday night, manager Aaron Boone attempted to highlight even something small to take out of it.
A poor outing by starting pitcher Domingo German and some of the sloppiest defensive play of the season resulted in the Red Sox scoring 13 runs over the first four innings of what turned out to be a 15-5 Yankees loss in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park.
Boone acknowledged his team “didn’t play well” in losing for the fifth time in eight games, but he also expressed a bit of optimism over a few slumping members of the Yankees’ lineup — which remains without injured reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge — who posted productive at-bats later in the blowout game.
Josh Donaldson homered in the eighth inning and notched two hits in four plate appearances, and Anthony Rizzo doubled in two runs in the sixth following a horrible 1-for-31 stretch.
“Better. At least some guys got some traction,” Boone said after the game. “Obviously, Donaldson really gets into one, but everyone in the lineup kind of did a little bit of something.
Read Related Also: Man dies after alleged assault on busy street in Noosa Heads
“Obviously, for most of the game we’re in a lopsided situation. So hopefully it is something, having little, small victories in the batter’s box hopefully is something that can catapult some guys that have been searching a little bit.”
Rizzo also drove in the Yankees’ first run in the first inning on a groundout and matched his season-high of three RBIs.
Donaldson, who has clubbed five home runs in 11 games since he returned from a nearly two-month injury absence, also singled in the fourth inning, incredibly his first single since Opening Day.
“I can really only speak for myself. I know that we are coming in and preparing and doing the things that we can do. Trying to go out there and letting our work pay off,” said Donaldson, who is batting .160 overall (8-for-50) in 16 games this season. “It has been a struggle to this point, but at the same time, we’re trying to stay positive and focus on the things that we can control. And that’s going up there and having good at-bats and trying to get on base and drive some runs in.”
