'It was a huge lift': Rizzo HR steadies Yanks

NEW YORK -- It’s true that third baseman Josh Donaldson drove in the game-winning run to help the Yankees edge the Red Sox, 6-5, in 11 innings. But it was first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who kept New York in the game with his monster home run in the bottom of the first.

After the first pitch was thrown in the game, the Yanks were -- as manager Aaron Boone put it -- punched in the mouth in the first inning, when the Red Sox scored three quick runs off right-hander Gerrit Cole. Rafael Devers highlighted the scoring with a two-run homer.

But, in the bottom of the inning, Rizzo showed the Red Sox that they were not in for a laugher. With right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, Aaron Judge singled to right field before Rizzo swung at a 1-0 pitch and hit the ball over the right-center-field wall to cut Boston’s lead to one run. The exit velocity was 114 mph, while the ball traveled a projected 414 feet, according to Statcast.

“It felt good to give us a boost like that,” Rizzo said. “When you give up three runs … early, it’s how we respond. It’s a nice response for us, even though we lost the lead late and then came back and won it.”

The Yankees were jumping up and down in the dugout after the Rizzo homer and knew immediately that they were not out of the game.

“It was a huge lift,” Boone said. "Obviously, a rough top of the first inning and to get two back there. Now, it was a ballgame right away. It definitely injected [life] on our end. We settled in and played. It was a really big hit. No question. [After that], everyone contributed from there to help things.”

Thanks to Rizzo’s homer, Cole settled down and retired 11 of the next 13 hitters he faced before leaving the game after the fourth inning with a no-decision.

“It was a great answer in the first, especially after the three-spot,” Cole said. “It was a good feeling. It was like, ‘Hey, we are here to play. We are going to take this as long as we need to.’ We kind of feed off each other. It’s one of those moments where you can take advantage of it. We were able to settle in and use it to our advantage.”

The Yankees received a scare in the fifth inning, when Rizzo was hit on the right hand by a pitch thrown by Eovaldi. Rizzo hit the ground immediately, but he was able to get up a few minutes later and stay in the game. After the game, Rizzo said he was OK.

“[The ball] got me pretty good, but, thankfully, nothing is wrong with it,” Rizzo said.