Battling his 'butt off,' Kiké hits clutch RBI 2B

NEW YORK -- Enough was enough, Kiké Hernández said in the biggest moment of Saturday night's 7-3 victory by the Red Sox over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Demoted from the leadoff spot earlier in the day and his hitless streak at 27 at-bats as he stepped to the plate in a tie game with two outs in the top of the eighth, Hernández worked the count to 2-2 against nasty Yankees reliever Chad Green.

Hernández then got a high fastball in the middle portion of the strike zone and hammered it down the line in left. Rafael Devers was off with the pitch and roared all the way around from first to score the go-ahead run.

"It was really, really nice," said Hernández. "Felt really good and I'm glad I was able to help the team win finally. I wasn't pressing as much as I was frustrated, I guess. Nobody wants to go on a skid like I did, and I don't know how many at-bats it was, but it felt like it was a lot more."

And give credit to Red Sox manager Alex Cora for sending Devers on the pitch, which might have contributed to the outcome.

"He got on top of a fastball. [He] was short and quick on that one," said Cora. "I don't know if it was because Raffy took off. Sometimes I feel when you put somebody in motion, you tend to shorten up your swing."

Credit Hernández for not getting in his own head after he started the night 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

"I just didn't really think about how I was struggling or whatever," said Hernández. "You can feel great, but Chad Green is still a really good pitcher and he has really good stuff and it's just a matter of competing. I was able to stay in the at-bat and not worry about the fact that I had two strikes. I was able to stay in there and compete my butt off, and I was able to put a good swing on a ball."

The surge of momentum suddenly on the side of the Red Sox after the big two-out knock by Hernández could be felt when Christian Vázquez followed Hernández with a 65-mph RBI double that rolled over the first-base bag.

And it could really be felt when Bobby Dalbec stepped up next and hit a two-run missile to left-center field. The Statcast metrics on that one -- an exit velocity of 115.6 mph and a projected distance of 453 feet -- told the story.

"You saw the guys that were out there earlier [before the game] hitting off the machine with velocity," said Cora. "It was Christian, [Hernández] and Bobby, and they had big hits today, the three of them."

It was quite the night for the Red Sox, who aren't going to be pushed around by the Yankees anymore after going 1-15 at Yankee Stadium the previous two seasons.

The Sox have taken the first two of this three-game series, and they had plenty to feel good about in Saturday's win.

E-Rod was … better
Eduardo Rodriguez, who had a rough May (1-4, 7.28 ERA), seemed to take a step forward in this one. Boston's lefty went 5 1/3 innings, holding the Yankees to five hits and three runs while walking one and striking out seven.

"I can say after what I went through my last four starts -- searching for what's happening out there -- today was a big day for me," Rodriguez said. "It wasn't [exactly] how I like it, to go out there and put zeroes on the board as much as I can, but I got good results velocity-wise. Changeup was how it's always been in the past, and the rest of the pitches were good. I feel like, overall, it's a big step for me in every way."

Whitlock's first win
With Rodriguez on the ropes in the sixth -- runners at second and third with one out and Gleyber Torres coming up -- Cora called on the Rule 5 Draft pick his team pried from the Yankees back in December.

That, of course, would be Garrett Whitlock. This was some way to make his Yankee Stadium debut.

The big righty minimized the damage in a tough spot, giving up a game-tying sac fly to Torres and then striking out Chris Gittens, who was making his Major League debut. Whitlock, who earned his first Major League win, came back for a strong seventh inning, erasing Clint Frazier on a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame and keep the game tied.

"I think the situation helped me focus just on the game, because if I would have let other things dictate that, it could have gotten bad. I was just focused on getting outs right now," said Whitlock.

The rookie has a 1.63 ERA in his first 15 MLB appearances. Not bad for a Rule 5 Draft pick coming off Tommy John surgery. Is he living the dream?

"I'm living the dream every day. It doesn't matter if I'm here or where I'm at," said Whitlock. "It's such a privilege to be here and I'm so grateful, so it doesn't matter where it is. I'm always living the dream."