By now our readers know the story… I am looking back to see how the Yankees performed on my birthday each year since I’ve been born and then telling the story of what took place on that summer day.
As always, whenever I do research like this, my first two stops are always Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference.
This series is soon coming to an end, but before that time, let’s head back to 2015…
***
It’s not often the Yankees and the Red Sox have played on July 12, but they did in 2015.
On this day, the Yankees (47-40) were in Boston taking on the Red Sox (42-46).
The Yankees’ lineup was as follows:
Jacoby Ellsbury – cf
Brett Gardner – lf
Alex Rodriguez – dh
Mark Teixeira – 1b
Chris Young – rf
Brian McCann – c
Chase Headley – 3b
Didi Gregorius – ss
Rob Refsnyder – 2b
The Yankees sent Nathan Eovaldi (8-2) to the mound.
The Red Sox countered with:
Mookie Betts – cf
Brock Holt – 2b
Xander Bogaerts – ss
Pablo Sandoval – 3b
Hanley Ramirez – dh
Alejandro De Aza – lf
Shane Victorino – rf
Travis Shaw – 1b
Ryan Hanigan – c
The Red Sox sent Wade Miley (8-7) to the mound.
***
The game got off to a quick start. The Yankees sent down in order in the first inning.
The Red Sox also failed to score although they threatened as Brock Holt singled and went to second on a wild pitch. But that was as far as he would get.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second following a Mark Teixeira single and a Brian McCann home run. (John Sterling should have used the home run call that my son Ryan made up for McCann:
“Swung on and hit to deep right. It is high, it is far, it is….gone!
Brian Mc Can…
Brian Mc DID!”)
In their half of the second, the Red Sox managed another single, but nothing else.
The Yankees failed to score in the third inning giving the Red Sox reason to mount their first scoring rally. It went as follows:
Ryan Hanigan – single
Mookie Betts – single
Brock Holt – strikeout
Xander Bogaerts – RBI single (Yankees 2, Red Sox 1)
Pablo Sandoval – RBI single (Yankees 2, Red Sox 2)
Hanley Ramirez – RBI single (Red Sox 3, Yankees 2)
Two ground outs followed, but the damage was done. The Sox had the lead.
Both the Yankees and the Red Sox went down in order in the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, the Yankees got a Brian McCann double, a Chase Headley single, and then a Wade Miley balk to tie the game at 3-3.
Then, after the Red Sox went down in order in their half of the fifth, the Yankees got a few more funs in the sixth inning:
Brett Gardner singled
A-Rod doubled Gardner home (Yankees 4, Red Sox 3)
Mark Teixeira lined out
Chris Young doubled home A-Rod (Yankees 5, Red Sox 3) – Wade Miley was taken from the game and Tommy Layne came in to pitch
Brian McCann grounded out
Chase Headley doubled home Young (Yanks 6, Sox 3)
Didi Gregorius grounded out (inning over)
For the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees brought in Adam Warren. His day didn’t last long. He recorded one out (De Aza), but allowed a Hanley Ramirez double and a Shane Victorino single to allow the Sox to get within 6-4. Justin Wilson took the Yankees through the rest of the sixth with no more damage.
Neither team scored in the seventh. With two outs, the Yankees went to Dellin Betances who struck out Hanley Ramirez with a man on second base.
The Yankees went down in order against Alexi Ogando in the top of the eighth.
The Red Sox threatened with a De Aza single (and stolen base) and a walk to Ryan Hanigan, but Mookie Betts struck out with the typing runners on base.
The game went to the ninth…
Chase Headley led off with a single, and went to second on a passed ball. And then, one out later, Rob Refsnyder hit a two-run homer to give the Yankees an 8-4 lead.
The game looked to be in the bag…
Andrew Miller came in for the Yankees in the ninth to shut it down. He didn’t.
Brock Holt singled.
Xander Bogaerts struck out.
Pablo Sandoval then reached on an error by catcher Brian McCann. (“McCann throws, McCann didn’t. The runner is safe.”)
Hanley Ramirez then reached on an error by Andrew Miller that allowed a run to score. It was now 8-5 in favor of the Yankees who were giving the game away.
Alejandro De Aza then hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 8-6.
And up came Shane Victorino…
And…
He…
Popped out to shortstop to end the game.
The Yankees held on to win 8-6.
Whew!
***
Yankees Record on July 12 (in this series – since 1968): 20-7
(There were no games played on July 12 in 1971, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, or 2012.)
Hideki Matsui on July 12: 2 for 9 (.222), double, strikeout, 3 walks
Derek Jeter on July 12: 10 for 29 (.344), 5 runs, 5 RBI, 5 SO, 2 BB, home run
Mariano Rivera on July 12: 3 innings, no runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 save, 1 blown save (0.00)
Don Mattingly on July 12: 12 for 31 (.387), 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Graig Nettles (as a Yankee on July 12): 33 AB, 7 hits (.212), 1 run, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks. 1 RBI (I had hoped that my favorite player would have done better on my birthday.)
